Little House
by Neogirl
Summary: Her cold exterior forced others to stay away and allowed her to focus on herself and her family. That was until she met Inuyasha. However with the responsibility of taking care of her ailing mother and little brother Kagome has no time for love.
1. That Kagome Girl

Disclaimer: I do not own anything dealing with Inuyasha. Inuyasha is owned by Rumiko Takahashi and not by poor old me.

A/n: Okay, this is my 5th Inuyasha fic, and I'm really excited for this story! Little House is inspired by the song Little House by The Fray, which I do not own any rights to either. So, read on, I won't keep you back with my endless babbling! Oh, before you start, please note that **all of the Inu characters in this story are human, but they still have their original appearances, except Inu won't have his fuzzy dog ears! **

Little House

Chapter 1- That Kagome Girl

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_With courage you will dare to take risks, have the strength to be compassionate, and the wisdom to be humble. Courage is the foundation of integrity-__**Keshavan Nair**_

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* * *

Inuyasha stared as a familiar, pale hand shot up into the air as soon as the Literature teacher asked the question about the modern piece, _Kokoro_. It wasn't a surprise to anyone when they saw her show quite some enthusiasm when it came to wanting to answer every question that the teacher asked. No one else had volunteered to respond so the overly excited student was the teacher's only choice. Students watched with bored expressions as she correctly answered the question that was asked.

Inuyasha couldn't help but roll his dark eyes when the girl took her seat. Kagome Higurashi. She was a strange one and Inuyasha knew that most students would agree with that statement.

At first glance one would consider her to be mildly attractive with her long, raven locks that tumbled midway down her back, an oval, light colored face, a tiny nose that seemed to fit her face perfectly, full, pink lips and of course one couldn't forget her eyes. They were what most agreed to be the loveliest feature about her. Her eyes were a striking sea blue color with a tiny line of light ice blue surrounding each eye. Her eyes were warm and she gave off such a friendly aura that naturally one would think it easy to approach her, but as many know today, looks can be deceiving.

She was cold and terribly unfriendly to anyone she came into contact with. Inuyasha had remembered the first time he had attempted to speak to her. It wasn't over anything remotely big, or important. He was new to the school and only asked her if she could help him out by guiding him to all his assigned classes. What he didn't expect was for her to rudely turn her back on him and say that she didn't have the time for such things. Ever since that day he understood why so many people expressed such dislike for the girl. Unlike others Inuyasha did not dislike her. For some reason he couldn't and he didn't understand why.

It wasn't long after Kagome answered that the bell for the end of the period rang. Students piled out of the classroom, eager to get to the long awaited lunch hour.

Inuyasha was barely out the door when he saw Kagome trip on someone's outstretched foot and stumble to the ground. There were giggles and tiny chuckles as expected but that didn't seem to affect Kagome at all. She simply bent over and began picking up her fallen books.

Maybe it was the way she picked up her belongings without looking up at the people surrounding her, or maybe it was the fact that her shoulders slumped with a sigh. Inuyasha didn't know, but he found himself being drawn to her.

Without a second thought Inuyasha walked over to the lone student and bent down to pick up a rather large book that was lying at his feet. His eyes met hers instantly and immediately he was drawn to them. He clearly saw the distrust and confusion brewing within her eyes. He decided to ignore and handed the book to her.

They stood looking at each other for sometime. Inuyasha didn't know what she was thinking but he was expecting at least a 'thank you' from her. She said nothing and after sometime of silence Kagome nodded her head at him, her eyes were still cautious. For a moment she parted her lips, seemly debating on what she would say to him. Her lips then formed into a thin line once again. She nodded her head and looked at him briefly before walking away.

Inuyasha looked at the girl's back in astonishment as she walked away. His eyebrows came down on his forehead and his lips formed into a frown.

"What kind of lame ass thank you is that?"

* * *

"Well you look like if you had a bad day so far," Sango commented with a chuckle before tapping Inuyasha's forehead lightly with her index finger.

Inuyasha shooed her hand away before returning his attention to the instant noodles that he was eating for lunch. He didn't bother to answer her question, firstly because he preferred to stuff his face with his lunch and secondly because his friend was right about her observation.

"Yes, you're right. He does seem _extra_ moody today," his other friend Miroku added with a grin before casually draping his arm around Inuyasha's shoulders. He was still grinning at Inuyasha seemly waiting for the teenager to say what his problem was. Inuyasha who was too stubborn to comply to any of his friend's comments gently pushed Miroku off him before returning his attention to his lunch. He ignored his friends' laughter and attempted to focus on keeping his temper at bay.

They'd always seemed to enjoy teasing him, ever since the day he had met them. He was in his sophomore year when he had entered the school and after being rejected for help by Kagome he was offered assistance by Sango and Miroku. They seemed friendly enough so Inuyasha stuck with them throughout the year and as time passed the three had been close for almost three years. Without them Inuyasha doubted that he would still be in the school. He was guy who had a low tolerance for anything and anyone and if Miroku and Sango weren't present when he'd lost his cool then Inuyasha was certain he would have been expelled for fighting.

"Keh, will you two stop it already! I'm busy," Inuyasha said in a half joking manner and put down the cup of noodles to look at his friends, both of whom were sitting across from him.

"So what got you in such a bad mood?" Miroku asked.

"Nothing," Inuyasha replied and turned his head away from the two. It was then that his golden eyes happened to land on the very same girl that he had encountered earlier. Kagome was walking across the grassy area with books piled high in her hands and a pencil between her lips. She walked over to a small tree and rested her books on the grass gently. The student sat down next to her pile of books and raised her eyes from the floor. Blue eyes clashed with violet ones causing Inuyasha to jerk his head away. He didn't want her to know that he was staring at her.

"Don't tell me it's that girl again," Miroku said, snapping Inuyasha out of his current daze. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and raised one eyebrow at his friends.

"What do you mean?"

"What did she do to you now, Inuyasha?" Sango inquired, adding to Miroku's question. "I mean isn't she always the cause of your bad mood?"

They knew him too well. It was true that Kagome's lack of gratitude for what he had done for her caused him to hold a slight grudge against her. So many times he had helped her out or at least offered to help her when she tripped, which she did quite often, or had a problem with something and yet he never received a thank you from the girl. Not once. He told himself that he would give up with attempting to help her. After all she didn't even want to help him with a simple task two years ago, so why should he even bother to help her? It made perfect sense, yet he couldn't do it. There was something about her that Inuyasha couldn't quite pinpoint that drew him to her.

"I don't get why you even bother with that girl, man," Miroku began with a frown, "I mean she's pretty and all but her personality…"

Miroku allowed the rest of his statement to trail off, knowing that Inuyasha understood where he was going.

"Miroku!" Sango said and glared at him, "She just seems like the type of girl who likes to be left alone so maybe you should just leave her."

"Keh, who said it's about that stupid girl?" Inuyasha snapped defensively and turned his head away from his friends. He didn't want them to see his face, knowing that they would easily pick up what he was thinking. He pride prevented him from admitting what was obviously true.

"But don't you…"

"Leave me alone!" Inuyasha retorted cutting Miroku off.

It was only when Inuyasha was sure that all of the attention was away from him, did his eyes travel back to the girl who he couldn't keep his eyes off of. Kagome's knees were now brought up close to her chest, and on her lap she had what seemed to be that literature book that they were currently studying. Her eyes had a certain gleam as she read the text, her lips were slightly parted and her eyebrows were hitched high on her forehead, giving away her keen interest in what she was reading. Inuyasha watched as she scribbled something down in a notebook lying right next to her before once again returning her attention back to the book. Her blue eyes rose up for a moment and immediately found Inuyasha's golden eyes. Inuyasha once again turned away so he wouldn't be caught staring.

'Damn it,' Inuyasha thought and shook his head. Why couldn't he keep his attention off that girl? There was something about her… and Inuyasha had no idea what it was. He shook his head once more. There was no way he was going to think of what that something was. He was thinking too much about some girl he didn't know anything about.

* * *

It seemed as the lunch hour came and went, Inuyasha couldn't help but take his attention off that Kagome girl and he was seeing her everywhere. She was in his sixth hour study period, which he never noticed her to be there before, while walking to his last period class which was Japanese History, he almost collided into her. Still annoyed with her for her lack of gratitude, Inuyasha yelled at her, rudely telling watch where she was going. Kagome on the other hand said nothing to him, ignoring his rude comments and continued on her way to class.

By the end of the day, Inuyasha was tired and in an even worse mood than he was earlier in the day.

He decided it best to retire home, instead of going to a fast food restaurant with his closet friends. They had expressed slight disappointment to his refusal to go with them but didn't push him further, knowing that he wasn't in the best of moods at the time.

Inuyasha walked the streets of Tokyo by himself and ended up waiting in a musky tunnel for the subway to arrive. He leaned against the cold wall and folded his arms. The stupid train was taking forever to arrive. He wanted to get home as quickly as possible so he could calm himself and relax. Luckily he didn't have any homework so he saw it fit to relax for the rest of the afternoon. His great desire to make it home was testing his already small amount of patience. He sighed and scanned his eyes around the area.

There was absolutely no one I interesting surrounding him. He noticed that there was a group of girls in a corner that her whispering amongst themselves while openly staring at him. He rolled his golden eyes and shook his head. This gave him even more reason to want to get home even faster. His eyes then landed on her.

Kagome was standing only a few feet away from him. She had a small, red bag resting on her shoulders while she was clutching two small books in her arms. Her body was slumped forward and her head was lowered, causing her long hair to cover her face.

Inuyasha stared at her curiously. Just what in the heck was wrong with that girl? By his numerous observations of her, Inuyasha knew that she normally had an upright position and her eyes were always focused in front of her.

Her body swayed to the side briefly. She shook her head and lightly touched her forehead. Inuyasha watched, almost spellbound as the young student leaned forward once again. Her eyes slid close and her lips parted slightly as her thin body fell backward.

Inuyasha barely had time to think about what was happening. His body seemed to react faster than his mind. He found himself running towards her falling body, hoping to catch her before she hit the cold ground.

* * *

A/N: Hi, it's me again, with another Inuyasha fic! Well if you've read my stories from before, you know that my first chapters are normally short. Anyway so if you guys can tell me what you think about this new story I've started I would greatly appreciate it! So hopefully some reviews, ne? Until… or hopefully until the next chapter!

Neogirl


	2. And She Thinks of Him

Disclaimer: No infringement of copyright laws in indented in this fanfiction.

A/N; Inuyasha and the gang are all **human**! They will all have their original appearances. Inuyasha will still have his golden eyes and silver hair, expect with human ears. Sorry for the mix up everyone. I've fixed it now.

Little House

Chapter 2- And She Thinks of Him

* * *

The first thing that Kagome observed when she regained consciousness was the incessant throbbing of her forehead. She groaned and brought delicate fingers for lightly brush against the sore area. The touch did nothing to alleviate the pain she felt, if it did anything, it seemed to make the pain intensify.

She removed her hand from her forehead and used both hands to push her body into a sitting position. She opened her eyes when she felt soft sheets beneath her fingers. Blue eyes scanned its surroundings. The last time Kagome checked, her bedroom wasn't a light blue and it wasn't nearly as big as this room.

Panic entered Kagome's system as it occurred to her that she was in unfamiliar surroundings. The last thing she recalled was waiting for the train to arrive at the subway. She couldn't recall what happened after that. Kagome brought her hand up to her mouth and scanned the room once more. Just where the heck was she? Horrendous thoughts entered Kagome's mind. Was she drugged then kidnapped? Even worse, maybe there was some old pervert who was going to have his way with her.

On cue the doorknob turned slowly and the door slowly opened. Kagome looked at the door with wide blue eyes as all her fears were realized. She sat frozen on the bed, waiting to see her kidnapper. In her mind she pictured an old man who was both hairy and flabby. She saw a lecherous gleam in his eyes as he reached for her.

Surprise was the first emotion that Kagome registered when the person entered the bedroom. He wasn't even close to being old, flabby and hairy. He had long silver hair that ran midway down his back, a seemly tanned complexion and striking golden eyes. Kagome shook her head when she found herself admiring the boy standing at the door. This was her kidnapper, for goodness sake! She averted her eyes and looked at the sheets. He looked familiar but Kagome couldn't remember where she had seen him before.

"Finally, I thought you were gonna sleep all night!"

Kagome didn't respond to his statement. She simply kept her attention on the sheets beneath her. She didn't hear the padding of feet against the carpet, nor did she hear the slight growl that he let out. It was only when he tugged lightly on her dark hair that it occurred to her how close he was. He golden eyes looked at her with blazing fury, causing Kagome's fear to spike.

She refused to show it however. Instead, Kagome raised her chin high and looked coldly at her kidnapper.

"What do you want with me? My family has no money to give you," she snapped and pulled her pink lips down into a frown.

The boy released her hair and narrowed his eyes at her. Kagome kept eye contact, refusing to give into his intimating look. If he had kidnapped her for money, she certainly wasn't going to be an easy victim.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

His voice was low but Kagome still heard the anger laced within it. Kagome looked at him indignantly. Why was _he_ mad at her? He wasn't the one who was being held in a house with some stranger.

"How did you get me here? Did you drug me?"

"What the… wench I saved your ass! If it wasn't for me, you'd be lying on the freaking floor now!"

Kagome's face softened slightly as she thought the situation over. She did feel a little ill while she was waiting for the train to arrive. It was due to the fact that she hadn't eaten anything for the day, Kagome had a late start and not only did she not have time to have breakfast but she was in such a rush that she had forgotten to pick up money for lunch. When she had arrived at school, Kagome found that she only had money for transportation home. She kept her mind off her hunger at lunch by re-rereading her favorite parts in her Literature book.

"What exactly do you mean?" Kagome asked pensively and studied the person's features. He didn't look like if he were lying to her and when she thought about it, Kagome did find him to look familiar.

"You fainted, stupid! I brought you here, because I don't know where you live. I go your school, remember," he said and pointed at his gray uniform which was handing a few meters away from them.

Kagome looked at the uniform for sometime before turning her attention at the boy standing before her. He was glaring at her now, but his eyes never left her. It was only then that it hit her. It was that guy who had helped her a couple of times. Yet, she didn't know his name and had never been interested in it before.

"Oh," Kagome said softly and averted her eyes as her cheeks turned red with embarrassment.

"Don't you know how to say, 'thank you', wench!"

"Thank… thank you," Kagome muttered despite his rude words. She was too embarrassed to even look him in the eyes. She guessed that he probably thought of her as some paranoid freak or something along those lines. She opened her mouth, hoping an apology would come out but nothing of the sort came. Instead she let out a small squeak and the only other sound heard was the loud lurch of her stomach.

Kagome raised her head, ever so slightly to briefly glance at her rescuer. He was looking at her with one eyebrow hitched high on his forehead. She immediately turned her attention back to the sheets when their eyes made contact and decided that it would be best that she stay still until she was spoken to.

"You hungry, wench?"

"It's not wench, it's Kagome," Kagome said softly and raised her head to look at him. She attempted not to show her displeasure with him, knowing that she would seem ungrateful for what he had done for her.

"Okay, Kagome," he said, making sure to stress particularly on her name before rolling his golden eyes at her. "I got some food for you to eat. You damn stomach wouldn't shut up ever since I brought you home."

Once again Kagome's face turned crimson.

* * *

"Thank you… um…"

"It's Inuyasha."

"Oh, well thank you, Inuyasha," Kagome said after she had finished eating. Kagome had found out that he had bought onigiri for them both. Kagome had seated herself at that table while Inuyasha watched her eat. He seemed intent on making sure that she finished what he had offered her. Kagome, not wanting to seem unappreciative ate all of it. The fact that she was famished didn't hurt with her finishing her meal.

Inuyasha was still looking at her. It wasn't the kind of stare that made Kagome feel as if he were interested in her romantically. He had a large frown on his face and his eyebrows were pulled down close to his eyes. It made Kagome feel as if he were scrutinizing her. It also seemed, by the way he looked and talked to her that he disliked her. Being disliked was something that Kagome was used to over the past couple of years but for some reason Kagome couldn't shake off the discomfort she felt when she thought of this Inuyasha guy detesting her.

She removed her eyes from him and studied the room around her. It was quiet in the apartment, except for the continuous ticking of a large clock that hung on the wall.

"Where are your parents?" Kagome inquired without even thinking. It wasn't until after that the high school student noticed that she had said her thoughts out loud. She whipped her head around to look at her savior and found that he was glaring at her. Kagome shifted uncomfortably in her seat and was about to mumble an apology but he spoke before she did.

"I live here on my own," he replied gruffly and turned his head to the side. Kagome made a small, 'oh' in response and studied his features. As she looked at him, Kagome found that her heart rate began to speed up in ways that it had never done before. How did she not notice him before? In appearance, he was well above average.

'Iie, I can't think like this!' Kagome scolded herself and lowered her eyes to her hands.

It was only then that the girl's eye actually landed on the time. She stared at her watch for a few moments before letting out a loud squeak and immediately getting to her feet. Inuyasha turned his head to look at her and found that the girl was already picking up her school bag, which was resting on a nearby couch and picking up the two books to hold in her hands.

"Oi," he said and walked over to her. She was mumbling to herself as she attempted to get her things in order. She didn't even seem to hear him when he spoke to her. Inuyasha, who was never a huge fan of being ignored, grabbed the girl by her wrist, which stopped her actions completely and swung her around to face him. Her cold exterior had returned, causing Inuyasha to become confused.

"I have to go home," she said simply and snatched her wrist away from him. Her voice was cold and her face was a void of emotion. She didn't say anything after that. Instead, Kagome made no indication of seeing him as she walked past him. She adjusted her bag on her shoulders and clutched her books tighter in her hands before opening the door and closing it behind her.

Inuyasha stood in the middle of the room, still watching the door, after Kagome had left. He was beyond puzzled. He wondered what had caused her to suddenly become so cold towards him when just a few minutes ago she was actually showing some emotion around him. It was the first time that Inuyasha had had a conversation with her and from his observations he found her to be slightly different from the loner who he had class with. Despite that, Inuyasha convinced himself that he still didn't like the girl on a friendly basis. No one in their right mind would like a cold, ungrateful, detached girl, even if she was pretty.

* * *

Kagome closed the door behind her with a sigh. The sound of the television in the background was an indication that her brother was home. She slipped off her shoes and dropped her bag on the floor before walking further into the house.

Like she predicted, her little brother, Souta was sitting in front of the television with the control held firmly in his hands. He didn't even notice when Kagome came up behind him. It was only when Kagome rested her hand on his head that he turned around too look at her. His eyes widened for a moment before he spoke.

"Nee-chan, you're home early today!" he observed and stared at her.

Kagome smiled sadly at her brother before ruffling his dark hair. There was no way she was going to tell him the reason that she had come home so early was because she had been fired. The ten year old had enough to worry about with the health of their mother. She had often tried to protect him from the hurt and the pain that she knew he would experience if he really knew what was going on.

Due to the fact that she had fainted, Kagome had arrived at work by the time her shift was finished. Her boss apparently had become fed up with Kagome's late coming and decided it would be best that she would no longer be part of the staff at the restaurant. Kagome had begged her boss to give her another chance. She would have told him about her situation with her mother but she refused to gain pity from anyone. After an hour of trying to convince what Kagome thought to be the most stubborn human being on earth to employ her again, Kagome left the restaurant with a heavy heart and a headache.

"Where's mama?" Kagome inquired and kneeled down so she was at Souta's level.

"She's in her room, sleeping I think," his expression was vacant and Kagome knew immediately that he was concerned. Their mother had been getting steadily worse over the past year.

Kagome nodded and gave Souta's head a light pat before making her way upstairs.

Her mother's bedroom was mostly dark expect for the light rays of evening sun peeking through the cracks in the window. The bed, which was placed in the middle of the room, held a thin figure beneath its sheets. The body shifted when Kagome closed the door behind her.

"Kagome?"

Kagome blinked, hoping that her eyes would adjust to the darkness before quickly walking over to her mother's bed. She kneeled down before the bed and stared at Mrs. Higurashi who was now lying flat on her back, staring at her daughter.

"Mama," Kagome managed to get out as she viewed the weak woman who was her mother, lying on the bed.

Mrs. Higurashi looked worse than she had earlier in the day. Her face had become noticeably pale and her entire body looked physically weak. Kagome squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to keep the tears from falling out of her eyes. After her mother had become ill more than five years ago, Kagome had promised herself that she would not show weakness. As far as she was concerned, her mother had too many worries when it came to her sickness, having to worry over Kagome would make it worse.

Kagome violently shook her head in order to clear all the thoughts running through her mind. She attempted to smile at her mother but she suddenly found the task to be extremely hard to accomplish while watching how sickly Mrs. Higurashi appeared to be.

"How was your day today?" Mrs. Higurashi asked her voice barely above a whisper. She brought one thin hand up and caressed the side of her daughter's face. Kagome observed that her mother's fingers were trembling.

"It's was fine. Mama, do you need anything? Is there anything I do for you?" Kagome asked and rested her hand over her mother's trembling fingers. Kagome was trying her hardest not to cry. It hurt her too much to see her mother looking like if she was on the verge of death.

"I'm fine, Kagome. You really don't need to worry so much. I just feel a bit sleepy," Mrs. Higurashi said and brushed away the bangs that were in Kagome's eyes. Kagome looked down at the cream colored sheets. She knew that if she looked at her mother that she would without a doubt start crying. Mrs. Higurashi caressed the side of her daughter's face. "Why don't you go and relax. I'll be down in about two hours okay?"

Kagome nodded slowly and kissed her mother on her forehead. The skin beneath Kagome's lips was cool and slightly clammy.

"Don't worry about your mother," Mrs. Higurashi said as her stood up. Kagome cast her mother a long suffering look before turning around to leave the room, closing the door behind her.

* * *

The house was deathly still after all its occupants had gone to bed. Kagome lay awake in her bedroom. She pushed the Literature look aside and stared up at the white ceiling. Her mind had been too preoccupied with so many thoughts.

At first she had been concerned about her mother and how sickly she was beginning to look. Then her thoughts shifted to the boy that she had encountered earlier. He was most definitely attractive with his long silver hair that hung midway down his back, golden eyes that shone when the light hit it and bronzed skin. Her cheeks reddened once again as she thought of him looking at her. Despite the fact that his expression hadn't been too pleasant, Kagome found that it made her rate speed up and her palms to become sweaty.

She rolled to her side and stared at the pink walls surrounding her. Some of her raven locks had fallen in front of her eyes, but she didn't make an effort to move them.

'I didn't tell him sorry for thinking that he was a kidnapper,' Kagome thought and shook her head when she realized that she was still thinking about him. He was a stranger, some random boy who meant nothing to her and who probably had forgotten about her by now. It made no sense thinking about this Inuyasha guy when she had more important things to be concerned about. She reminded herself that she had no time for friends. All her time had to be put into her school and her family.

"Inuyasha," she whispered testing his name on her tongue and her face become hot as he once again invaded her mind.

Kagome convinced herself that it was guilt that was causing her to feel such a way. She hadn't treated him very well after he had helped her. Sure she was grateful at first but as soon as she caught sight of the time, she had rushed out without an explanation. Kagome guessed that he was baffled by her actions and normally she didn't bother what people thought of her but with Inuyasha she found herself caring more than she would have liked to.

"I will apologize tomorrow," Kagome decided. By then she would indisputably be able to forget about him.

* * *

A/N; And there's chapter two peoples! I hoped you enjoyed it and I would like to especially than every person who reviewed my first chapter. It made me happy to know that people like this story so far. I will update by next week hopefully. If you can, you can leave a review to tell me what you think about this chapter. So until chapter three,

Nee-chan- sister

Iie-No

Neogirl


	3. Maybe She Isn’t…

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to Inuyasha.

Little House

Chapter 3- Maybe She Isn't…

* * *

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_Speak when you are angry - and you'll make the best speech you'll ever regret-__**Dr. Laurence J. Peter **_

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Kagome had managed to arrive to school early the next day. She had exactly fifteen minutes before the starting of her first period class. She shifted her red bag on her back as she maneuvered her body through the mass of people. She had enough time to drop off most her books in her locker which would make her bag lighter. Her back was throbbing incessantly due to the unfamiliar weight it was carrying.

Her night had been filled with thoughts of _him_. When Kagome closed her eyes Kagome saw either his piercing golden eyes staring at her or his flowing sliver hair. She found herself wondering why he lived alone, and she wanted to know what he saw in her that made him look at her with such distaste. As far as she recalled, Kagome had never really spoken to him. She remembered only a few times when he had assisted her, his eyes staring at hers. It had always made her feel uncomfortable, not only because she didn't trust him but the way he stared at her without saying anything made her feel…. odd

Kagome shook her head when she realized she was once again thinking about him. Why couldn't she get this guy out of her head? She reminded herself once again that there were more important things to worry about, such as finding a new job and taking care of her family. Guilt seeped into her mind as it occurred to Kagome that she was more concerned about some person that she had just become acquainted with, rather than her mother who was suffering.

She stopped by her locker and entered her combination. It made a soft screech when she opened it. Kagome was about to drop her bag to the ground, ready to pull out all the textbooks that made her bag feel as if it contained weights rather than school equipment but, the sight of a large brown bag stopped her. She slowly reached out and pulled that paper bag out of her locker. She stared at the object in her hand suspiciously. The heat radiating from the bag on to her fingers fuelled her curiously. Kagome hesitantly opened the bag and looked in it expecting to find some kind of rotting animal or a few disgusting insects. Her lips parted slightly and a gasp slipped through them. Within the bag was two cinnamon buns, steaming and begging to be eaten.

Kagome glanced around her before looking down at the paper bag held in her small hands.

"Who could have…" she whispered and let the sentence trail off as she looked down at the cinnamon buns.

At first she thought it was a prank. She was often a victim of many students' frustration due to the fact that she was isolated and unfriendly to persons that she came into contact with. She stared at the steaming buns in the bag. They were practically begging her to taste them…but then again Kagome didn't know of any prank that smelled and looked so enticing. She stood in the same spot for a few moments with the hum of the crowd around her, trying to figure out who would do such a thing.

It only took her five minutes to figure out who it was.

* * *

Inuyasha was having a pretty lousy day. He happened to arrive almost twenty minutes late but still convinced his teacher to let him into his first period class. It was only then that he realized that he was so preoccupied with that stupid girl yesterday that all thoughts of homework slipped from his mind. His teacher put him to stand outside of the classroom and later told him that he would have a lovely time in detention for forgetting his assignments and for coming to her class late. He had managed to get to study period, irritable and annoyed with the people around him. His friends, Sango and Miroku left him to himself when he suddenly exploded, throwing insults at them when they teased him. 

The quiet atmosphere of the library was helping to release all the tension he felt within him. He sat with two big text books before him and two of his notebooks spread out over the text books. There was no way that he was going to study with his mood. He was simply sitting down at the large table by himself, fingers tangled in his silver hair and eyes focused on the wooden material of the library table.

His eyes landed on the calendar stuck in his notebook. It was January the fifth. He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair when he remembered that he had to head home today. He closed his eyes and tired to focus on something that he knew would lift his spirits. He found nothing.

He lifted his eyelids and his golden eyes immediately landed on the girl who was standing a few feet away from him. Her blue eyes were focused directly on him, while her books were clutched firmly in her hands.

Her face turned crimson when she noticed that she was caught staring. Inuyasha raised one eyebrow at her and she averted her eyes quickly. Inuyasha expected her to walk away but instead she began walking in his direction, her attention was on the blue carpeting beneath her feet.

She stopped by the opposite side of the table, her eyes were looking at the table and her hold on her books tightened. Inuyasha observed that her knuckles were slowly turning white as she stood before him.

"What, wench?" Inuyasha asked in a harsher tone than he had meant to. She had been standing there for sometime now, shifting at times glancing awkwardly at him.

She slowly lifted her eyes and looked at him with a slightly annoyed expression. The fire in her blue eyes was obvious, surprising Inuyasha slightly. She opened her mouth but shut it soon after when an insult almost left her lips. The girl took in a deep breath before speaking. She would just get this over with and then she would be able to forget about this rude Inuyasha guy.

"I just wanted to tell you sorry about yesterday and thank you for the food this morning," she said tightly and shot flaming bullets at him with her eyes, indicating that she didn't like the way in which he had spoken to her. She tiled her head higher and if possible, stood even taller. Her shy expression was gone as she eyed him with disapproval.

Kagome was about to turn around and leave him sitting at the table by himself but Inuyasha spoke before she could do so. "Oi, wait."

She hesitantly tiled her head to look in his direction. Both of her eyebrows were raised high on her forehead and her light pink lips were pulled down into a frown. She had already calculated in her mind what she would say if he were to insult her. Her self control when it came to his rude attitude had gone completely out the window.

"Yes?" she asked in an impatient voice and turned her body so that she was completely facing him once more. Their eyes met and Inuyasha swore that by itself, her eyes were a deadly weapon.

He turned his head to the side to avoid looking at her. After all, he didn't really recall doing anything wrong. She just was acting like some moody wench. Kagome observed him as her patience wore thin for him to speak. He seemed somehow angry at her and Kagome would have already walked away if it was anyone else but there was something about this guy that kept her feet glued to the spot and her eyes stuck on his face. She guessed that it was her pride.

"Keh, sit," he said after a long pause.

Kagome blinked several times and looked at him in surprise. He still had his head turned away from her and the bangs in front of his forehead covered his eyes, preventing her from seeing his facial expression.

"Nani?"

"I said sit, wench! There ain't no other free seats here anyway!" he said and whipped his head around. To Kagome's surprise he was glaring at her. Kagome frowned at him and removed her attention from Inuyasha to look around her surroundings. Her eyes desperately searched for any free chair at the several tables in the library. She didn't care who she sat next to, once it wasn't the rude person sitting before her, who she swore that she was seconds away from strangling.

Kagome's spirits sank when she noticed that he was indeed right. There were no free seats available. She sighed and eyed him suspiciously before pulling the chair parallel to Inuyasha. She rested her books on the table and pulled that sat down slowly. She made no eye contact with him, convincing herself that she already disliked this person. Even if he did help her out he wasn't the nicest person that she had come across. He was rude and hostile to her for no apparent reason and he saw it fit to glare at her with every chance he got. The best thing for both of them would be for Kagome to completely ignore his presence and then maybe she would actually get home in a partly good mood.

The high school student opened her study material and began scribbling down in her notebook. Inuyasha sat staring at her. She wasn't paying any attention to him now. He felt that he was completely invisible in her eyes and unexplainably it annoyed him.

"Hey, did you eat it?" he asked quietly.

Kagome kept her attention on her books but did speak to him. Her main concern was finishing most of her homework before going home. After, loosing her job, she had already looked into a few places that were able to hire part timers and planned on visiting those places today, in hopes of employment.

"Eat what?" she asked, uninterested.

"The stuff that you found in your locker."

Kagome slowly rested her pencil down and raised her head to look at him. He was looking down at the many books resting before him. His golden eyes rose to look at her and Kagome found her cheeks turning pink.

"Ye… yes. Thank you," Kagome said, stumbling over her words and managed to smile at him.

Inuyasha found himself spellbound as he watched the girl before him. Not only was it the first time that he had seen her smile but it was also the first time in which he had seen her eyes shine like they were at that moment. His cheeks suddenly felt hot and he knew he was probably turning red.

He tore his eyes away from her and decided to actually read what was in the book before him. He looked up slightly to find that she was now looking at him, understandably puzzled. His eyebrows came down and he scowled at her.

Kagome prepared herself once again for one of his insults. She had only known the guy for one day but she seemed to already be able to predict when he was about to say something insulting to her. He opened his mouth and then quickly shut it, as if he had changed his mind about what he was going to say. Instead, he once again turned his head to the side and looked at the carpet beneath his feet.

"Keh, you don't have to be like that. I just didn't want you passing out again. Some kidnapper might come and take you," Inuyasha said lowly. Kagome had to strain her ears to hear him and after hearing his comment about the kidnapper Kagome once again found her cheeks turning crimson. She quickly darted her eyes to the table and mumbled a small apology.

"Oi," Inuyasha began, causing Kagome to hesitantly look back at him. His face held a small, smug grin this time. "Can't you take a joke, wench?"

Kagome's lips formed an 'oh' after he spoke. Her cheeks however, the crimson color of her cheeks remained, along with her embarrassment.

Kagome kept eye contact with him, despite her embarrassment. For the first time since she had had a conversation with him, Kagome didn't feel disliked or uncomfortable. Maybe this Inuyasha guy was alright.

* * *

Inuyasha walked up the steps that he had grown used to during his lifetime in a daze. The house was just as he had remembered it, the same lush, green plant life in the garden, the same doors, the same old blue car parked in the driveway. Nothing had changed. 

He moved his attention away from his surroundings and to the tall oak door before him. It make a slight creek as he pushed it open and made a slight 'thud' as the doorknob connected with the wall behind it.

The house was what one would call homely and to anyone else it would seem to be calling them to come in, with its warm lighting, peach colored walls and the photographs and paintings that hung on the walls. Of course, those who came into the house didn't know the secrets that it kept behind its walls. Yes, one would adore this place, dream of living in the place, long for a home like this one… but that wasn't the case with Inuyasha. The home that people normally would have guessed to be warm and cozy, inviting and lavish was hell for Inuyasha.

He sighed and stepped into the house. Without even using their bare feet one could easily guess that the carpets were soft. They made a slight crunching sound as Inuyasha walked along the corridor, to enter into the living room.

The living room was once again lavish, with a white color to enhance the light streaming from the pulled back curtains. A large family portrait hung right over the white fireplace, showing a picture of a happy family of four. Inuyasha chuckled without humor. It was funny how images depicted things differently from reality.

He shook his head and sat down on the golden sofa, in the empty room. It was quiet… so quiet that the house seemed empty and the occupants, gone. It was definitely the same. The same quietness lay on the house ever since that day. Every since that day, time had stopped.

"So you're here."

Inuyasha broke off of his long stream of thought and raised his head to stare at the tall man standing a few feet away from him.

"You didn't expect me to?" Inuyasha inquired and turned his attention back to the family portrait hanging over the wall. He dug his fingernails into the chair as memories of the past flowed into his mind.

"It's not that… I know you don't like coming here because…"

"Save it!" Inuyasha said curtly and closed his eyes. The silence lasted for a long time, neither male speaking. Inuyasha sat silently, allowing his anger level to decrease before saying anything else. Oddly enough he didn't want any conflict… He didn't even want to be in the place that he was at the moment. His shoulders slumped with a sigh, when he realized that his anger was remaining. He opened his eyes slowly. Inuyasha stared at the younger image of himself hanging on the wall. "What is it, you want?"

* * *

A/N: Yes, Neogirl is still alive. Nothing happened to me except I just got really busy and have had issues with time management. Oh and I forget to mention that I've been walking around for the past month or so like a sleep deprived zombie. Anyways, I'm back and I'm hoping for it to stay that way. I will work on the next chapter over the weekend, so look out for it on Monday or during next week. If I don't update then that just means that school has once again taken up my time. Sorry for the wait… I hope it was worth it. Until next time, 

Neogirl


	4. The Ice is Starting to Crack

Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and I do not own any rights to this series. No copyright infringement is meant through this fanfiction.

Little House

Chapter 4- The Ice is Starting to Crack

--

_Guilt is the source of sorrows, the avenging fiend that follows us behind with whips and stings-__**Rowe, Nicholas**_

--

* * *

The poker face that was normally projected had returned. The blue eyes that had held a small sparkle only a few days ago had once again been concealed, leaving those orbs to appear to be a plain, almost navy blue color. Her lips were pressed tightly together and her expression, vacant.

"Late again, Miss Higurashi," Mrs. Kobayashi, their Literature teacher said.

"I'm sorry, sensei," Kagome responded blandly. It matched her face almost perfectly.

Inuyasha watched from his seat as Kagome was scolded by their teacher. It was the third day in a row that she had arrived late for her first period class. During that time she had managed to remove all emotion off her face, a trait that Inuyasha had come to find quite amazing. She had barely said anything, expect for her apologizes and even when she did speak, her voice held no intensity. It was almost as if she had turned into a lifeless doll.

Her usual neat appearance was gone. Her dark, long locks were pulled back into a low, messy bun. Some strands of her hair were sticking out, while the rest had fallen into her eyes. It was obvious that she had made no attempt to make herself appear presentable, something that Inuyasha assumed that she took great pride in.

Kagome, along with Inuyasha had been asked to stay back after class and after being asked to remain back, Inuyasha had yet to move from his seat. His lips were pulled down into a scowl and his eyes shot flaming arrows at Mrs. Kobayashi. She was the cause of his heightening irritation and he made no attempt to hide it.

He didn't understand why Mrs. Kobayashi needed to speak to Kagome for what had seemed to him to be hours. He was getting hungry and had hoped to sneak up to the roof and eat something there, while skipping his second period class. He knew now that his plans were ruined.

Their tones had lowered now and Mrs. Kobayashi's face held a more worried expression rather than the serious one that it had only a few moments ago. Kagome's eyes were downcast, hiding her face completely but even then, Inuyasha knew that she still wasn't showing any emotion.

It was amazing to Inuyasha that any human being was capable of shutting off all emotion when needed. Not even his own brother, who had mastered the art could do it was well as Kagome could.

His bother… he shook his head when he found himself thinking of _him_… of _them_. More than anything he wanted to forget his encounter with them only less than a week ago. He had been haunted by their conversation for what seemed to be an eternity and he was sick of it. He just wanted to move on. He wanted to overlook it as if it were something of insignificance in his life. He wanted to forget everything that had happened in that house, everything that had cause time in that house to stand still. It was the reason for his moving out, he wanted, he _needed_ to escape.

"Inuyasha!"

Inuyasha's stream of thought was immediately cut off as soon as Mrs. Kobayashi called him. He looked up and found both females staring at him.

He managed to regain his composure and once again pulled his lips down into a frown and raised one eyebrow. With a sigh, he made his way to where his teacher stood.

Her arms were folded and both eyebrows were hitched high on her forehead. Inuyasha already knew what she was going to say to him and with his current mood, he didn't give a damn. Maybe some absolutely disrespectful would have come out of his mouth if Mrs. Kobayashi had not spoken at that moment.

"Mr. Takahashi," she said slowly looked at him almost angrily. He guessed that she had sensed what he was currently thinking. "You've been failing my subject," she said, after a long pause of silence.

Inuyasha's stomach made a soft lurch and it was enough for his agitation to rise a bit higher. His golden eyes pierced Mrs. Kobayashi dark brown ones, refusing to avert.

"Well I ain't too fond of you subject, Mrs. Kobayashi," he replied, making sure to stress her name so that she could easily pick up his current annoyance with her. She frowned at him before clearing her throat and speaking again.

"And if you fail…" she paused for dramatic effect. Inuyasha tried his best not to roll his eyes at her comment. His patience was starting to wear thin and he was certain that the feeling was coming across in his facial expression. "That's why I've arrange for Miss Higurashi to tutor you. You're quite fortunate that she agreed."

Inuyasha glanced at Kagome. Their eyes met for a brief moment before Kagome turned her face towards their teacher. Her eyes gave away nothing.

Inuyasha sighed and thought to himself that this day definitely wasn't going to be one that would go down as being the best.

* * *

The image from earlier in the day was still imbedded in Kagome's mind. She once again saw her mother's frail body lying on the bed. The feeling of her mother's sweaty, trembling hands beneath hers was still there and it made her guilt rise to levels that it had never risen before.

Her mother hand collapsed earlier in the day, right before Kagome hand walked out of the door and only a few moments after Souta had left for school. She was making tea, happily humming to her own tune when she suddenly fell to the floor. There was a loud clatter as her plate fell to the ground and as her teacup shattered. Kagome reacted immediately, taking her mother's thin body up to the nearest bed. It took Mrs. Higurashi more than an hour to awaken and during that time Kagome had occupied herself by wiping the beads of sweat forming on Mrs. Higurashi's forehead while still managing to hold Mrs. Higurashi's hand. She had thought once of calling the ambulance but had remembered her mother's words, to only call if the situation was critical, after all they were not very financially stable.

Kagome had planned to stay at home for the day, to take care of her mother's needs but Mrs. Higurashi had refused, remind Kagome of her promise to do her best in school, no matter what the situation. She was also told not to inform Souta of the fainting for it would worry him more than he needed to be. Kagome had hesitantly left the house, holding back her tears.

'How could I have left her?' Kagome thought and left out a deep sigh. She brought her knees up to her chest and rested her chin on her kneecaps.

She was sitting in her usual spot, under the small tree. Students were all around her, chatting away with their friends, laughing, making jokes. They came to school to have fun, not to work like she did. School was an obligation to her and it was something that she refused to take lightly. Friends would only distract her. She didn't have time for such things, for any other people besides her family. They needed her more than anything.

It happened that her eyes happened to catch sight of the boy who had taken care of her. Inuyasha was sitting at a table with two of what Kagome assumed to be his friends. He was saying something, with a frown on his face, while the two others were laughing at what he was saying. His golden eyes had held a spark and his hair was constantly falling in front of his face but he made no attempt to move it.

She hadn't spoken to him since that time in the library, but had encountered him more than once since then. He had simply stared at her with a scowl, causing Kagome to wonder what in the heck did she do to him. She didn't remember saying anything insulting or offensive to him that day. In fact, their conversation had ended on a pretty good note. They had studied in silence for most of the period and said their goodbyes when the bell rang. She had learned that he was a little funny and behind that mask of anger, he was tolerable to be around, but that didn't mean she liked him. He was much too rude for her liking and she refused to associate with someone who had yet to call her by her real name.

Kagome felt the muscles on her forehead stiffen and she knew that she was probably glowering at him. It happened that Inuyasha decided to look in her direction, causing their eyes to clash. Kagome immediately tore her eyes away from him and turned her attention to the dying grass beneath her feet. She focused on other thoughts to prevent her face from turning crimson, something that it seemed to be doing frequently recently.

He was one of the last persons that she wanted to see today, and even more tutor. She shook her head and glanced up briefly to see what Inuyasha was doing. He was still looking at her.

* * *

Inuyasha shook his head when Kagome suddenly turned away. By the looks of things, she was glaring at him. He guessed that it was probably because she had to tutor him later on in the day. It wasn't like he was looking forward to it either but that didn't mean that she had to attempt to brutally murder him with her eyes.

He looked at her long enough to catch her glancing up at him, before she darted her eyes to the side of her. Her lips were pursed tightly together and her cheeks were slightly red, with what Inuyasha thought to be anger. He already knew that she was going to take out her anger on him. He mentally cringed.

"Staring at her again I see."

Inuyasha closed his eyes and didn't bother to look around at Miroku. He knew that his friend had that lecherous smile on his face and it annoyed the hell out of Inuyasha. He guessed that Sango was looking at him disapprovingly, probably thinking that that he was paying too much attention to that unfriendly girl. Sango wasn't the type to trust easily and if she had known that he had helped Kagome, she would give him a long lecture about how badly she had treated him in the past.

"We're going the music store after school today to check out that new cd. You coming, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked, before Sango could say anything.

Inuyasha opened his eyes and frowned. He shook his head and sighed.

"My stupid teacher wants me to get tutoring after school today. She said I can't fail or else…" Inuyasha said dully and rolled his eyes as he recalled the events from earlier on in the day. He was still a bit agitated for not being able to skip Math class. The teacher for that subject was pretty dreary and was so oblivious to the world around him that he wouldn't even notice that Inuyasha was missing for that class. Instead Inuyasha spent his second period trying his best not to pass out at his desk as Mr. Saitou spoke about quadratic equations.

"Someone has the patience to tutor you," Sango commented with a loud chuckle and gently poked his arm. Inuyasha scowled at her and playfully rubbed his arm as if the gentle press of her finger against his upper arm had hurt him.

"Keh," he responded as both of his friends laughed. "If I finish early I'll see if I can join you guys."

"No, you stay and be a good student!" Miroku said mockingly and slapped Inuyasha on the back before leaning in close to whisper something to Inuyasha. "Besides I would get to spend time with Sango alone."

Miroku raised both eyebrows as his lecherous smile slid onto his face once again.

"I'm more worried for you than Sango," Inuyasha said and smirked at Miroku. It had been quite sometime since Inuyasha had seen Sango deliver a good beating to Miroku and he guessed that Miroku was going to get one today.

"So," Sango began, causing both males to look at her. Her expression had grown somber and her tone of voice had become low. Inuyasha knew exactly what she was going to say and hoped that maybe this time he would be wrong. "How was your visit to your house last week?"

The table grew silent.

* * *

The tutoring session was in its second hour when Inuyasha's patience finally snapped completely, causing him to throw his pencil on the table and let out a long, exaggerated sigh.

Kagome looked up, her eyes wide and her lips slightly parted. She had barely said a word to him ever since they had started. Unlike the last time, no small talk was made. Kagome read one of his essays from the class and told him that he had completely left out the discussion on style. She then pulled out her notes and told him to read it through and tell her which of it he needed explaining. After a long while of reading Kagome's extremely neat handwriting, they decided… or more like Kagome decided that they should do their homework while together so that Kagome could assist him.

"Don't you ever get sick of this?" Inuyasha asked sulkily and pressed his forehead against the table. He guessed that she still had that surprised look on her face and highly doubted that she would answer his question, since it seemed that her cold exterior was back. At first he assumed that she was having a bad morning but it continued on throughout the day and he had received that attitude from her so many times before that it was easily recognizable.

"Sick of what?" she inquired after a long pause. Inuyasha raised his head off the table to look at her. She looked genuinely puzzled and Inuyasha found that expression to be quite amusing on her face. She reminded him of his small cousins, when they didn't know how something worked. Simply seeing any form of human emotion on her face was something that Inuyasha found to be amusing and simply fascinating.

Inuyasha once again rested his head back on the table but this time however he used his chin to keep his head up so that he could look at her.

Her hair was even more muddled than it was earlier in the day and watching her properly he observed the swollen, dark masses underneath her eyes. Despite this, even Inuyasha's stubborn mind would admit that it didn't make her look any less attractive. Her cheeks still held a healthy, pink glow about them and despite the large bags underneath her eyes; her blue orbs had gained back the sparkle that hadn't been there earlier in the day.

"What?" Kagome asked and pressed her fingers against her left cheek, indicating that she thought that something was on her face. Inuyasha jumped and averted his eyes. His cheeks began to turn crimson when it occurred to him what he was thinking while looking at her. He sat up once more and coughed a few times before speaking. He found it more convenient to look at the stacks of books behind her instead.

"This subject… it's stupid. You're always reading or writing something. You waste your time doing it," Inuyasha remarked. He hadn't meant for it to come out like that but figured that it was too late for him to change things. Instead he said nothing after that. Inuyasha had already predicted an angry response. In his mind's eye he had already seen Kagome's cheeks turn red, and her lips pressed together tightly, while her eyes would shoot flaming bullets in his direction.

"I guess you're right about that," Kagome began in a soft voice, "But when I write I feel so… different. I forget everything and just enter into that world. Sometimes I feel guilty because ma…"

Kagome stopped herself when she realized what she was saying and what had almost come out of her mouth. She focused her attention on Inuyasha and found that he was almost surprised as surprised at what was said as she was. She dug her fingernails into the bare skin of her legs and lowered her eyes as embarrassment suddenly came over her. She had no idea what had suddenly caused her to say such a thing to him. Normally if anyone told her something like Inuyasha had she would have easily brushed the comment off and would have not responded at all.

'I almost told him about mama. What is wrong with me?' Kagome thought and squeezed her eyes shut so that she would no longer be able to see the baffled expression that Inuyasha's face held.

An uncomfortable silence stretched on between the pair. Kagome had refused to open her eyes for she was nervous of what his expression may be. She didn't expect to hear a slight chuckle come from across the table. Hesitantly, she cracked one eye open and looked at Inuyasha.

He had one eyebrow held high up on his forehead and his lips were pulled down into a frown. Despite his serious appearance, Kagome was quick to observe the playful glint that shone in his honey colored eyes.

"You're a funny girl," Inuyasha commented and curved his lips into a grin. Kagome parted her lips and found her face turning red. She knew for a fact that her cheeks were flushed a deep red but this time she made to attempt to cover them as Inuyasha had captured her total attention.

She watched as he turned his head to look at something across the room. This was an emotion that she couldn't identify with. Her heart was racing and she found herself unable to look away from the boy sitting before her. Most times she found that he was intolerable and rude but there were times when she hoped to see him more and times when she found herself thinking about him.

"You don't think it's time we finish this. I'm tired and don't you have something better to do with your time?" Inuyasha asked and turned his head in order to meet her eyes.

If it was even humanly possible, Kagome found her face turning an even deep shade of red. This time she tore her eyes away from his and looked at her lap.

"Yeah, I think we're done for the day," she said softly and attempted once more to calm down her rapidly beating heart.

* * *

Torrential rain was what Kagome had met when she came at the school's exit. She adjusted her scarf on her neck and watched as tiny droplets of water shot down from the heavens on to earth. The place was already extremely cold and Kagome knew that if she were to risk going while the rain was falling so heavily she would most likely have a stuffy, red nose and be unable to speak without an irritating sound accompanying her voice.

She couldn't afford to become sick. Her family's financial balance wasn't at its best currently due to the fact that Kagome had lost her job and also because of her mother's illness. The medications that she had to take were extremely expensive but then the other part of her mind reminded her of the state that Mrs. Higurashi had been in earlier on in the day.

Kagome once again saw those trembling, ghost white hands reaching for her face. Kagome felt the clamminess of Mrs. Higurashi's forehead beneath her fingertips. She saw image of her mother's hooded eyes and frail body.

'Mama…'

Making sure that her cream colored scarf was secured well and her navy colored jacket was buttoned up well, she gripped her bag tightly and without hesitation walked out into the downpour. The water was cold on her face and millions of falling raindrops slapped her body mercilessly. Her hair had already begun to stick to her face, causing the bangs on her forehead to block her view. She easily pushed them away.

She hadn't made it far before something grabbed her wrist, stopping her stride. She quickly turned around and found Inuyasha looking at her with wide eyes. He too was soaked and water was dripping from his hair.

"What the hell are you doing walking home in this kind of rain, wench?" he asked.

Kagome allowed her eyes to observe his features. His eyes were wide and his eyebrows were raised high on his forehead in confusion. Kagome snatched her hand out of his grasp before continuing her walk to the subway.

The sound of wet shoes against the pavement indicated to Kagome that Inuyasha was following her. He grabbed her arm this time and spoke before she could say anything.

"Let's go back and wait 'til the rain stops," Inuyasha said and lightly tugged her arm. Kagome once again snatched her arm away and like before continued walking.

Inuyasha watched her for a moment. He didn't understand what her problem was all of a sudden. She had rapid mood swings, he had observed and this time she seemed not to want to be bothered by him. He had seen her run out of the school grounds into the rain. From the temperature and the distance that the subway was from the school he knew that she would be ill by the time she would arrive home. He didn't understand why he cared and stood there for several moments wondering if he should go after her. He then remembered her fainting episode and decided it best to stop her. The last thing that he was expecting was for her to act so coldly towards him.

He jogged up to meet her and gripped her shoulders, turning her around completely. Her bangs were covering her eyes.

"I have to go home," Kagome said coldly and lowered her head. He didn't understand how someone who had seemed to be so warm only a few moments ago had turned into an unresponsive doll. There was definitely something wrong for her to suddenly become that way. A part of him wanted to ask her what was going on while the other part of his mind wanted to yell at her for always shutting out the world. The angry part of his mind won.

"Why are you always like this? I'm trying to help you and you treat me as if I'm in your way! You're always so damn ungrateful; no wonder no one can stand you! I doubt that whatever it is going on at your home, you don't need to be in that much of a rush to get there! It can't be _that_ important!" Inuyasha yelled and glowered at her. He let out a large breath when he finished speaking.

Kagome raised her head and Inuyasha was surprised to find tears flowing down her face. The moment lasted briefly before Kagome rested her hands on his shoulders and pushed him away from her. She immediately turned around and ran from him. He heard the splash of water as her feet hit the ground.

She had pushed him pretty hard. Inuyasha stumbled back a few steps before regaining his balance. He caught it just in time to see her running away. From that moment he forgot about how cold his body felt, he forgot about the slightly painful feel of the rain hitting his body and only thought about how her face had looked when she cried.

* * *

A/N: Hiya everyone! It's been since forever since I've updated. Due to some set backs exams are still in progress but I have been working on this chapter for a while and here it is. Exams will finish on Wednesday for sure and I can't wait til it does so I could relax, have fun and get back to this story of course. I don't know when the next chapter will be up. Sorry for the set back though. Thank you to all the reviewers who took the time to say something about what you think about Little House so far. Thanks so much. Until whenever I can update..,

Neogirl


	5. Understandings

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended in this fanfiction. Inuyasha and all the other characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

Little House

Chapter 5- Understandings

* * *

The front door was his first victim as his fist collided with the steal material of the entrance to his apartment. He ignored the bolts of pain that shot up his arm as his fist made contact with the hard surface of his door. Inuyasha let out a deep sigh before opening the door with his free hand and stepping into his apartment.

He felt the warmth of the space as soon as he entered and immediately welcomed it. The combination of the rain, with the temperature of November was deathly. He was basically freezing on his way home but barely even recognized his coldness for his mind was too far away.

He dropped his wet bag on the floor, along with his shoes and shirt before throwing himself on the nearest comfortable surface, which happened to be his couch. The room was deathly silent and dark for the sun had already set, but the ceiling was becoming visible as his eyes adjusted to the light.

She had cried. The image of rain water running down her face, combined with the tears that were flowing freely out of her eyes was still etched perfectly into his memory. She looked lost, almost unsure of what to say to him, how to react. He had attempted to forget, it was none of his business, she was none of his business yet there was something magnetic about that girl. She drew him to her and he wanted to know about her but the stubborn part of his mind refused to even communicate with her.

"Damn it!" Inuyasha screamed into the darkness and once again punched the closest thing that he could find, which happened to be the very couch that he was lying on. He wanted so badly to forget about her but something inside him wouldn't.

'I made her cry…'

He wasn't aware of how long he stood there in the rain, watching her retreating figure but he was aware of when a car passed and splashed ice cold water onto him. He had snapped out of his trance long enough to utter a few obscenities to the already retreating car. After that his mood declined. He was angry mostly at himself for once again she had him confused. He was mad at her too, for being completely ignorant of the fact that he was only trying to help her yet the guilt that he had felt with the current situation had overshadowed his anger.

He wasn't very good with women. He barely understood what they wanted with him. At most, they annoyed Inuyasha. He had gotten used to frequently receiving pink letters with fluffy hearts which proclaimed their deep affection for him. He had often received lingering stares from others and groups of girls giggling foolishly whenever he would pass. It annoyed him to no end for he was the type of guy who preferred to be left alone. His annoyance with women would increase when they would cry. He had never been good with that and didn't understand why they needed to blubber out all their emotions in public, even more so in front of him. He normally ignored them and refused to offer them any comfort but with Kagome it felt different. He genuinely wanted to know what had happened to her and this desire to find out had increased since his words were most likely the culprit for her tears.

Inuyasha debated in his mind whether he should apologize to her or not. He wasn't even close to an answer when he felt the vibration of his cell phone against the side of his leg. Letting out a choice of curse words, Inuyasha dug into his left pants pocket and pulled out the device. He assumed that it was probably Sango or Miroku calling so he didn't bother to check the caller id.

"What?" he snapped into the mouth piece as soon as he pressed the phone to his ear. If it was any one of his friends he would have expected a round of teasing or a verbal lashing if it was Sango. He heard neither. The other line remained silent for a few seconds before he heard a husky, male voice on the other end of the line.

"You've finally answered, I see."

Anger once again infiltrated his system, causing his eyebrows to come down to his eyes and his lips to come down into a deep scowl. It took him a few moments to collect his thoughts on what to say. During that time the person on the other end remained silent, obviously waiting for a reply from Inuyasha.

"What do you want?" Inuyasha asked in a deathly calm voice.

"I need you to come home. It's been almost a year, don't you think that this…"

"Just stop right there!" Inuyasha said, his patience snapping completely, "I told you my answer before. I ain't coming back. You think that you can control me, just like you control everyone else! Just know this, old man; I am _not_ one of those puppets that can be used by you!"

He flipped the phone shut soon after and made no hesitation in throwing the device across the room. It made a loud clash as the piece of hard plastic collided with the concrete wall. He guessed that the phone was most likely destroyed due to the impact but that wasn't his concern. His anger had once again returned, but this time for a different reason. The malice he felt towards them, towards that house was once again rising. The memories that he thought he had forgotten were resurfacing at a rapid pace and they still affected him even after so much time.

Forget…it was really what he wanted. He shut his eyes and used his fingers to rub his temples. He swore that he had moved on, that all the things of the past would simply slide past him and make things better but he was coming to the realization that time did nothing for him. If it ever did, it only ripped him apart on the inside until there was nothing left to destroy.

* * *

Kagome was greeted by the usual sound of the television, broadcasting Souta's favorite anime program. She pushed the hair that had stuck to her face behind her ear and used the rain water on her hands and face to remove the tear stains that had formed underneath her eyes and her cheeks. She didn't want to worry anyone, especially Souta who had become most observant recently.

She slipped her sloppy, wet shoes off of her feet and immediately removed her jacket, which had already been stuck to her small frame, along with her scarf. It was only then that she heard the small padding of feet against the wooden floor before Souta appeared before her.

"Nee-chan!" he said and beamed at her. Kagome raised one eyebrow at her brother but still managed to give him a small smile given her current mood.

Strangely enough the words that Inuyasha had uttered to her only one hour ago had remained in her memory. It surprised Kagome to know that what he had said had affected her. She was also surprised that she had actually cried, even more so in front of him. Tears were not an option for Kagome. She loathed crying and most times found ways to withhold her emotions, but not in front of that Inuyasha guy. She had begun to notice that he affected her in ways that others didn't and it wasn't something that Kagome particularly welcomed.

Kagome shook her head as Inuyasha's words once again echoed in her mind. She was not going to let it affect her any longer. She refused to think about any person whom she disliked for more than five seconds. She looked at Souta and found that he was still staring at her.

"What are you so cheery about?" Kagome asked as she pulled off her slightly muddy socks.

"Um... Nee-chan, why are you all wet?" Souta inquired and rubbed the back of his head. Kagome smiled at her little brother before going up to him and ruffling his dark hair.

"You think a little rain can keep me from coming home," Kagome said jokingly and walked towards the living room, with Souta following.

She expected to see the usual which was Souta's clothes spread all over the room, the snacks that he was eating before the television and his game controllers out of place, she stopped in her tracks however when she noticed the room not only spotless but the sight of Mrs. Higurashi sitting on a couch, looking bright eyed. Mrs. Higurashi turned her attention towards Kagome and beamed at her daughter.

"Mama," Kagome whispered and unconsciously made her way towards the couch where Mrs. Higurashi sat, "What are you doing out of bed? Didn't you feel sick this morning?"

Mrs. Higurashi gave Kagome a warm smile before lightly touching Kagome's wet hair. "You're all wet, Kagome. Didn't you carry an umbrella with you today? I think it would be best for you to go take a shower before you catch a cod and then come eat. I've made dinner today."

Kagome was speechless. Her mother was acting as if absolutely nothing had happened earlier on in the day. It was rare for Mrs. Higurashi to be out of bed at such an hour and even less common for Mrs. Higurashi to prepare dinner. Kagome normally did it, after she came home and carried the meal for her mother to eat in bed. Kagome opened her mouth to protest for Mrs. Higurashi could collapse at any moment, but she was cut off by her mother.

"Please go quickly and take off those wet clothes, Kagome. We don't want you getting sick."

* * *

Once again it had turned out to be an unpleasant morning for Inuyasha. He was laden with fatigue due to the three hours of sleep that he had received the previous night. His mind was not at ease. It was filled with thoughts of all the events that had happened the previous afternoon and feelings that he dare not probe.

Surprisingly enough Inuyasha had made it to school well before the morning bell and had settled himself in quietness of the school library. It was a surprise to him that the place even opened that early and even more of a surprise when he found students present there at such an early hour, either studying or reading.

As he sat down in the stillness of the room Inuyasha finally got to ask himself, why was he here so early? What exactly had gotten into him that would cause him to give up on rest and five in the morning and immediately get ready for school? Maybe it was the lack of sleep. He had heard that sleep deprivation made people do odd things that were very out of character, or perhaps it was the fact that his mind had been too far away to notice. He guessed the second.

Despite his confusion, Inuyasha found himself enjoying the quiet atmosphere of the early school morning. It had something calming about it that almost made him forget all his troubles at home. He slumped in his chair and eventually allowed his head to lean forward until it touched the wooden table before him with a small thud.

Maybe he should have skipped school, but then again his old man was probably keeping tabs on his attendance, anything, to force Inuyasha to come back home. He would do anything to stay away from that place.

He soon found his eyes slowly closing and his shoulders slumping forward. The world around him soon became dark, but the atmosphere around him kept him calm. Unbeknownst to him, his forehead lightly touched the wooden table before resting itself completely there and his books immediately slipped and touched the ground. Unbeknownst to him, Inuyasha had fallen asleep.

He awoke a mere two hours later to the loud shrilling sound of the school bell, indicating that school was officially in session. With a grunt, Inuyasha pushed his head off from the table by gripping the edge of the table with both hands.

He guessed that due to his sleeping position, a circular, dark spot had probably formed on his forehead and his eyes were most likely bloodshot due to sleep deprivation.

He realized as his rubbed his forehead that his all nighter was finally catching up with his body. His eyes were burning and it seemed that they had trouble staying open. Inuyasha also noticed that a headache was making its way into the mix, causing him to feel as if a large truck had run over him not once, but possibly four or five times!

Uttering his choice of curse words, Inuyasha somehow managed to lift his body off the chair and stand firmly and upright… well a little upright. He felt as if his body was ready to drop any second but with his pride there was no way that he was going to let anyone see him in such a pitiful state. With inner resolve the teenager slung his bag over his left shoulder and attempted to stroll out of the library as if nothing had happened.

By the time he had made it outside the hallway was already a ghost town. He knew that this morning he had Literature and wasn't very much enthusiastic to attend. Firstly because it was no secret that the teacher despised him and Inuyasha made it blatantly clear that he himself wasn't a big fan of her either. The teacher-student relationship had a level of understanding in Inuyasha's eyes and that was that the two individuals understood that it was impossible that they would ever get along with each other.

Secondly, Inuyasha wasn't ready to see that girl again. He thought sleeping would help him get the vision of tears streaming down her already wet face out of his mind but it did no such thing. Instead as time progressed, which was only a mere nine hours ago, the image became clearer within his mind. It not only frustrated him that he couldn't forget about her but it pissed him off to know that even after all this time, after all the mistreatment that he had gotten from this Kagome girl, that she still somehow managed to have an effect on him.

It was best that he skip class.

* * *

Kagome's head was throbbing. She had noticed that after walking out of her first class. She didn't understand why she suddenly felt a wave of sickness and with the passing hours the pain had intensified up to the point where it had become unbearable.

Her mother had been moving around normally since yesterday which had brightened the mood of the normally gloomy atmosphere of the house. On a rare occasion, Kagome had managed to eat breakfast and leave for school at a reasonable time, allowing her to arrive ten minutes before the bell. She had been calm, and she felt somewhat energetic, yet she still found herself worrying about her mother's health. Maybe her constant worrying had allowed her to forget completely about her own personal well being. She had done it too many times to count.

Despite her headache, Kagome slowly made her way outside where she normally sat during the lunch break. He kept her head high in order to avoid the many stares that she often received when she passed by groups of students. Most of the times she saw persons glowering at her but had learned to pay it no attention. Her eyes however couldn't help but shift to where Inuyasha normally sat with his friends.

Just as she had predicted he was there, sitting with the two friends of his. The scowl that she had almost grown accustomed to seeing was planted on his face but she noticed that his eyes held a glimmer of laughter within them and his body was in a relaxed position. The girl who was sitting down next to Inuyasha ruffled his hair with a smile, while Inuyasha chuckled at something that she had said.

An unidentifiable feeling arose inside of Kagome. She suddenly found anger creeping into her system as she saw him close with another female giving an expression that he had yet to give her. Normally he gave her long, probing stares. It seemed from Kagome's viewpoint that he didn't know what to really think of her. He was rude and inconsiderate of how she felt in the few times that she had held conversation with him, maybe that's why seeing him like that suddenly bothered her.

Blue orbs kept focused on the three groups of friends, mostly on Inuyasha as Kagome's body moved further away from the table in which they were seated. Suddenly, Kagome felt something block that path in which she was walking on and no sooner did her body tumble to the ground, along with the two large textbooks that she held in her hands. She gave a shriek when her face made impact with the grassy floor.

The ruckus had caused students from the surrounding area to stop their activities and turn their heads in the direction of the noise. Kagome slowly opened her eyes and groaned. Slowly, the sound of laughter filtered into her ears. She could have lain there longer, she could have complained about the pain that she had experienced from the person who had obviously tripped her but she didn't. There was no way she was going to stoop to that level. It was exactly what those types of persons wanted anyway.

With all the dignity that she could muster, Kagome pushed her body off of the grassy earth and dusted off the pieces of mud that had stuck to her skirt and shirt. She ignored the laughter surrounding her as she ran her fingers through her hair to make sure that no leaves were stuck in them. She was about to bend down to pick up her two books but someone beat her to it.

It was Inuyasha. Golden eyes locked with blue ones as he handed the book to her. Kagome found herself in a daze as she stared into deep pools of gold, unaware that she had not even made an attempt to reach for the two books that Inuyasha had picked up for her.

"Oi, you want it or not?" Inuyasha inquired in his usual sarcastic tone of voice.

That caused Kagome to snap out of her daze. She tore her eyes away from him and instead found it to be more constructive to stare at the floor instead. Her face was crimson, she knew it just by the sudden warmth that she was feeling coming from her cheeks and once again she was too embarrassed to let him become aware of this fact. Instead of looking at him once more, she stretched out both hands and took the books from him.

"Thank you," she murmured, while still keeping her attention focused on the floor.

He wasn't moving. Didn't persons normally leave and return to what they were doing previously after doing a good deed? Inuyasha apparently didn't want to move from in front of her path. Instead he just stood there. She felt his eyes on her still which brought her much discomfort.

"Well… um… I'll be going now," Kagome said and strangely enough found her cheeks darkening in color.

The laughter had died down. It was either that or Kagome had lost touch with her surroundings. The exchange between them was awkward. She felt it and possibly Inuyasha felt it too. She hesitantly looked up to see what facial expression that he was holding and the events of the previous afternoon flooded into her mind. The statement that she had finally managed to get out of her head only a few hours ago returned and this time it had increased in volume.

Inuyasha too looked as if he had remembered for his scowl was gone and his eyebrows furrowed as if he were confused about something. He opened his mouth slightly and only a grunt came out. With an exasperated sigh, Inuyasha's large hand enclosed around her boney wrist causing the high school student to jump in surprise.

"Come with me!"

"Eh?" Kagome managed to let out as he suddenly began tugging her away from the crowded area to a more private place of the school. She noticed that the student population became more dispersed as he led her further. He was silent which caused Kagome to wonder where in the heck he was taking.

"Wait!" she said suddenly and attempted to pull her hand away from his. He stopped then and whipped around to face her. They were on the school rooftop, a place where students rarely came. It was a place where people skipped class and where couples often came.

She glowered up at Inuyasha who was staring right back at her. His facial expression was not filled with anger like hers. Instead it looked determined, almost defiant. She watched as he sucked in a large amount of air through his teeth and let it out almost soon after. She wanted with curiosity as his expression softened and his shoulders slumped.

"I'm not normally good at crap like this," he began and slumped against a nearly wall. Kagome titled her head to the side and watched him in confusion. Just exactly what was he talking about? She waited for him to say something but after ten minutes he still had yet to utter a sound.

"Good at what?" Kagome inquired and closed her eyes as a strong wind blew past her causing black strands to violently lash her cheeks.

Inuyasha slowly raised his head and looked at her. He kept his attention focused completely on her for what seemed to be an eternity in Kagome's mind. She still stood in the same position, shifting uncomfortably due to the sudden attention that she was being given. Her eyes averted to the side when her discomfort grew.

"About yesterday," he began in a soft voice and turned his head to the side so he wouldn't have to look at her. "I shouldn't have said those things."

Kagome's eyes widened. Was that an apology? She stared at him hoping to get some confirmation that what he had said was indeed meant to be an apology but he once again had gone silent. Kagome blinked several times as the situation once again played within her head. She lowered her eyes as she remembered his soaked form, walking through the rain just to get her. From what she remembered he hadn't even been wearing a coat. He must have been cold.

"You were right though," Kagome admitted after a long stretch of silence between the two individuals. "I have not been grateful to you for all the things that you've helped with. I want to apologize for that."

Inuyasha raised his head and found Kagome staring at him intensely.

"I want to thank you," Kagome said soon after and allowed her lips to curve into a smile.

Inuyasha's heart rate sped up so fast that he began to worry that maybe he was possibly suffering from a heart attack. Her blue eyes regained that glimmer that they had the first day that he had seen her which caused Inuyasha to once again wonder how he felt towards this girl. A wind swept past them again and this time Kagome pushed her hair out of her face. Inuyasha couldn't help but smirk slightly at her.

"You know what," he began and looked at her baffled face. "You ain't so bad, Kagome."

* * *

A/N: Yes! I am back! I was in a rut for so long with this story and I'm happy that I'm out of it! I'm so happy. Anyways please accept my apologies for promising to give you a chapter in October and then giving you it in January. Please know that I had a bad case of writer's block and that I am a fan of procrastination. So the next update might be next week since I only can write on weekends now! Oh and thank you so much for all the support I have received.

Neogirl


	6. Feeling

Disclaimer: No copyright infringement is intended in this fanfiction.

Little House

Chapter 6- Feeling

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_Feelings are not supposed to be logical. Dangerous is the man who has rationalized his emotions_- **David Borenstein**

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* * *

Kagome didn't have to see her reflection to know that the crimson color on her cheeks had once again returned. Maybe it was the fact that she hadn't eaten anything for approximately two hours that caused Kagome to think that Inuyasha was strangely attractive. His golden eyes gleamed as the light hit his face and his long hair easily fell back into place after the wind had passed. The slight smirk on his face oddly suited him and in Kagome's eyes added to his appeal. As her examination of him continued Kagome only found that her heart soon went into hyper speed.

Kagome quickly stopped herself before her feelings went any further. There was no way possible that she was attracted to him. Despite the fact that his looks were above average, she knew that he wasn't her type anyway. She had no type, period. Relationships weren't something that she catered for, it wasn't something she had time for and it wasn't something that she needed. She had enough going on already with her mother and her younger brother, to add more to the mix would simply be stressful and irrelevant.

It was only a few moments later that Kagome observed that the smirk had left Inuyasha's face and the scowl that his face usually held had returned. His left eyebrow slowly raised itself on his forehead and his lips slightly parted.

"What you looking at?" Inuyasha inquired in a not so polite manner. She had been staring at him with unwavering eyes for what seemed to be almost fifteen minutes. Inuyasha had expected her to say something or to even respond after his words but instead she did nothing. Her eyes stayed on him, almost as if she was trying to get into his mind. It didn't take long for Inuyasha's discomfort level to rise causing his agitated mood to once again return.

Kagome's eyes widened slightly seemly surprised at his sudden, harsh tone. She looked down at her feet for a few moments before raising her head and looking at him. Inuyasha was expecting another one of her 'you're so rude' statements but instead she glanced away shyly.

"Well," she began with her eyes now focused on her fingers, "I'll be heading back now."

This time she avoided eye contact with him completely before turning around and moving away from him. Inuyasha didn't really know when it happened but without even thinking about it, his lips parted and a noise, resembling his voice filled the air.

"Wait!"

Kagome stopped her steady stride and hesitantly turned around to look at him. Instead of walking up to meet him however she stayed rooted on the spot, looking at him inquisitively. Her cheeks were still flushed a deep red. Inuyasha guessed it to be either from anger or embarrassment but he noted that her lips were not pulled down into a deep frown so maybe it wasn't anger. Her body however was tense as she stood unmoving. He observed that she raised both eyebrows high into the air, indicating that she wished to know what he had called out to her for.

Inuyasha cursed himself for speaking without thinking through what he was going to say. Maybe if he weren't so stubborn then he might have admitted to himself that his voice at that time was ruled by emotion. Inuyasha however didn't have any reason to give her.

"Um… about that…"

"About what?" Kagome inquired, looking more confused than ever.

"Your… your lunch. You bought your lunch with you here right?" Inuyasha asked and ran his fingers through his long sliver hair.

"Yes, I did," Kagome replied and slowly allowed her blue eyes to travel up to meet his golden ones.

"Well, good. You can eat here, instead of walking back. You should change from sitting under that big old tree every once in a while," Inuyasha stated.

Kagome didn't think it possible but she knew that her cheeks had turned an even deeper shade of red. Why was her heart beating so fast? He was absolutely nothing to her, nothing. Kagome began to remind herself of all the rude comments that he had thrown at her. Yes indeed he was inconsiderate. In fact thinking over what he had just said to her only a few seconds ago, it too seemed rude. The tree that she went to eat under was a very special place to her, a place where she often cleared her mind of all the troubles that she was going through. Yes he should get a 'no' for an answer after being so rude to her.

Her reasoning however was lost when she once again looked into the golden pools. It would have been easy to avert her eyes away if it was any other person but it was Inuyasha. There was something about him that was hypnotic that caused her heart to beat faster and her train of thought often to be lost.

"Yeah… I guess," Kagome replied meekly, eyes still locked with his.

It took her a while but Kagome finally walked over to where Inuyasha stood and sat down with her feet tucked underneath her legs. As Inuyasha looked down at the girl who was sitting awkwardly on the floor, he noted how small and tiny she seemed. Also… she was seated pretty far away from him. Did she dislike him that much? His scowl deepened as he looked at the space between the two of them. Without a second thought, Inuyasha moved across to Kagome and threw his body down next to hers.

Unlike her proper posture, Inuyasha showed that he didn't care. Both of his legs were wide open and almost all of his body was lying completely on the floor except for part of his upper body which he held up using his elbows. He had moved closer, close enough that part of his arm was lightly brushing leg. Inuyasha also showed no embarrassment this time in looking at the girl seated adjacent to him as golden eyes focused completely on her and her activity.

Kagome attempted to make herself as comfortable as possible as she took out the bento that her mother had made her, followed by a collection of classical poems. She was well aware of Inuyasha's probing gaze but decided it best to bear with it. She was the one who accepted to eat with him anyway.

"Do you really like Literature that much?" Inuyasha inquired after sometime of silence.

Kagome turned to look at him and found both of his eyebrows pitched high on his forehead and his eyes unwavering.

"Yes. I told you before it's like entering a different world. Words can take you to so many different places," Kagome said softly as her cheeks flushed. She suddenly found herself embarrassed by her own words. Maybe it was because it was Inuyasha she was telling them to. He still held the same expression despite her words. Kagome quickly turned her head back to her lunch before speaking, "What about you, Takahashi-san? Don't you have anything you love to do?"

Inuyasha turned his attention to the sky and watched as the clouds, which looked as big mounds of cotton floated aimlessly above them. He then slouched even more so that he was lying completely on the ground.

"Keh, why do you suddenly care?" He paused for a moment before continuing, "I don't remember ever liking anything enough to become passionate about it," he said. His voice sounded so far away. Kagome took a chance to glimpse at him and saw that his eyes were now closed and his face looked completely relaxed. It was an expression that she had never seen from him before. It made her want to know what he was thinking. He always looked so full of anger. It was a refreshing change to see him look as if he was relaxed with her.

His eyes finally opened and he turned his head to look at her. Kagome was slightly surprised to be caught staring but instead did not look away from him.

"So is this how you are when you're not all grumpy?" Inuyasha asked with a playful gleam in his eyes. Kagome blinked and frowned immediately.

"I'm not grumpy! I just take a lot of things seriously. School is serious business!" she retorted and frowned down at him.

Kagome expected him to retaliate. She expected him to glare at her, and say something disrespectful and rude. What she didn't expect was for him to let out a barely audible laugh. She looked at him, lips slightly parted and a slight blush on her cheeks. Once again she had witnessed an expression that she had not yet seen on his face. Still her desire to see more expressions from him wasn't fulfilled. She found that the more she witnessed, the more she found herself desiring to get closer to him.

"No wonder you always look so mad. You like all those stupid subjects and you are interested in anything else. You're different from other girls I've met. Really weird," Inuyasha said and this time he was frowning however Kagome doubted that it was due to anger. His statement was rude but Kagome didn't take offense. She found that she was starting to become even shyer around him.

'Why do I suddenly care what he thinks of me? He's a rude, inconsiderate, arrogant…' her train of thought stopped when she made eye contact with him. She didn't want to look away.

'There's no way…'

This time Kagome tore her eyes away from Inuyasha's. Kagome quickly closed her lunch, stuffed her book within her bag and stood to her feet. She knew that he was probably confused by her sudden action but she refused to make eye contact with him. If she did she didn't know what she might do.

"What's wrong with you? You're acting weird again," Inuyasha said. She could hear the rusting of clothes as he stood up to look at her.

"I need to go. Lunch break will be over soon," Kagome said, immediately erasing her face of any emotion. "Besides, I have a meeting with a teacher for late coming and..."

"If you just want to leave you can just say so, wench. You don't need to make up excuses," she heard him say and for some reason she felt badly about it. Kagome nodded and walked away briskly. He didn't say anything to stop her.

She was lying. She just couldn't stand to be near him any longer. It almost felt as if her heart was going to explode. For a split second Kagome thought that she felt something for him, feelings that she did not want to probe. She had to get out of there as quickly as possible. There was no way she would allow anything like that to happen. She was finding it harder to convince herself that she really didn't care. It was becoming harder to block him out emotionally. Just what was happening to her?

* * *

"You were gone for long," Miroku commented as Inuyasha joined them after at the table. His signature lecherous grin formed on his face, "Did you have fun with the pretty lady?"

Inuyasha raised one eyebrow at his friend before turning to Sango, who also seemed interested in his response.

"Nothing happened," Inuyasha said and folded his arms. Sango then proceeded to poke his left cheek lightly. She normally did that action in order to gain his attention. It worked every time since it annoyed the easily irritated Inuyasha. Inuyasha glared at Sango who had a serious expression on her face.

"We just talked okay!" Inuyasha said at last and sighed.

"What did you guys talk about?" Miroku asked causally.

"What is this, a freaking interrogation?" Inuyasha finally exploded, "We just talked! Anything else you guys want to know?"

Both of his friends ended up laughing while Inuyasha scowled. They always enjoyed teasing him. At first Inuyasha thought it was because he was new to the school and it was typical for the new kids to be made fun of. However the teasing continued and had yet to stop. When Inuyasha finally asked why they enjoyed nagging him constantly Sango simply said it was because of his personality, something that Inuyasha didn't understand.

"Too bad you didn't get to confess you're undying love for her. I mean you're always staring at the girl. When you finally get to talk to her for the first time you… just talk if it were me I would have…"

Inuyasha cut Miroku off with a hard glare. How could one person have such dirty thoughts? Inuyasha did not understand how someone who thought about sex twenty four seven could be so popular with the girls at school. He observed the swoons in response to Miroku's smile and the fact that girls surrounded him when walking through the halls. Sango seemed to be one of the few girls, who were immune to his charms, whatever those charms were Inuyasha did not quite understand.

"It's not the first time we've talked anyway," Inuyasha muttered and rocked back on his chair. It wasn't as cold as it was on the roof and somehow Inuyasha's feeling of relaxation was gone.

Without a doubt that girl had contributed to him feeling a bit at ease. Maybe it was because unlike other girls she barely spoke and wasn't as giggly and annoying as the others he had had conversations with. Inuyasha didn't want to admit that he had hoped that he was still on the roof with her. Although their conversations were not lengthy and somewhat awkward he found himself still liking them. Maybe it was because of her seemingly permanently crimson cheeks that drew Inuyasha to her or maybe it was because of her somewhat defiant attitude that added to this attraction, Inuyasha had no idea why he found himself wanting to be even closer to Kagome.

Inuyasha's thought was cut short when he suddenly felt a warm breath on his ear.

"What are you day dreaming about?"

Inuyasha suddenly lost his balance on the rocked back chair and fell back onto the grass. He had hit his head pretty hard causing him to lie there for quite sometime, wondering what exactly had happened. A frown made its way onto Inuyasha's face and his eyes shot flaming arrows at Sango. Sango along with Miroku looked quite surprised and Miroku put out his hand to help his friend off the floor. Inuyasha ignored the gesture and pushed his body off the cold grass beneath him. Surprisingly his friends didn't laugh at all. Instead their faces looked solemn. Their attention wasn't focused on him but on something else. What exactly was causing them to look that way?

Inuyasha scratched the back of his head and raised one eyebrow at them alerting them to his confusion.

"What?" he asked finally and noticed that Sango was clutching her cell phone in her hand. "Answer the phone already!" Inuyasha said finally after her observed it had been vibrating for quite some time.

"I don't know if I should…"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Inuyasha inquired and snatched the phone from her hand in frustration. The noise was annoying the hell out of him and it didn't help that it wasn't in the greatest mood at the time.

"No, Inuyasha don't it's…." Sango began and stood up in a frantic attempt to take the cell phone away from Inuyasha's hands. She attempted to snatch the phone out of his hand but he easily held the device above her head and out of her reach.

He was about to cancel the call completely but paused when he saw the number illuminating on the screen. His body had suddenly gone cold. Inuyasha didn't move nor did he speak. For that moment he felt nothing. Shock had a hold on all his actions, all his emotions, everything that he was once in control of. It was only when the phone stopped ringing that caused Inuyasha to regain his senses and once again to regain his control. Anger flooded into his system and coursed through his veins violently, almost taking over his senses.

"Why is," Inuyasha began slowly. His voice was terrifyingly quiet, dangerously calm. He then slowly raised his eyes to look at them his eyes wide and mouth slightly opened. The look in both of his friend's eyes said it all. "Why is he calling you? How does he even know your number, Sango?"

Sango didn't know what to say. He appeared calm but Sango knew that he was seething inside. Never before had she seen him this angry at her or at anyone. This was an Inuyasha that she had yet to come into contact with. Without responding Sango tore her eyes away from Inuyasha's. She saw the burning fury within them. The fire in his eyes was present. It was the same eyes he had when he first told them about his experience.

"Answer me damn it!" Inuyasha finally shouted, causing the entire area to become quiet. All eyes were focused on them but that what the last thing Inuyasha cared about. Betrayal, it was a feeling that he hadn't felt in a long time and wished never to feel again.

"Are you talking to him?" Inuyasha inquired, voice again had become soft. Sango kept her eyes on the floor. He knew the answer to the question already simply by the way Sango was reacting. It caused him to get a sudden lump in his throat.

"Inuyasha, don't be mad at her," Miroku began stood up slowly. He was aware of how easily this conversation could end badly. "The truth is…"

"So you're involved in this too?" Inuyasha asked and turned his glare towards Miroku. "Did you know about this?"

"Yes," Miroku said after a long pause, "But the truth is he contacted us. He wanted to know how you were doing. Your father…"

"He's not my father." Inuyasha growled and glowered at the two persons standing before him, "So it was you two who were feeding him all this information about me, huh? Funny." His voice was dark and full of so much hatred that neither of them knew how to respond to it.

His body itself was letting out an aura of hate, fury and so many other negative emotions that it was difficult to even stand next to him. Inuyasha's hands were clenched into tight fists and his body was slightly shaking. He lowered his head and looked at the ground beneath his feet. His eyes were hidden from their view but both Sango and Miroku knew it was the same expression that he had given them just a few moments ago. For Sango it struck fear within her and Miroku feared that by his posture, Inuyasha could become violent at any given moment.

"I'm done!" Inuyasha shouted and without hesitation angrily threw Sango's cellphone at the two persons standing before him. It hit Miroku's chest lightly before falling to the ground. Inuyasha then proceeded to walk away, from the situation, from the two of them.

"Wait, Inuyasha!" Sango shouted and began to run after him. Miroku was the one to stop her. His large hand wrapped itself around her wrist and easily pulled her back. She whipped her head around to glare at the teenager who had a firm hold on her. "What exactly do you think you're doing?"

"Leave him alone right now. He's too angry to listen to anything we have to say."

Sango looked at her friend's retreating figure and sighed. She suddenly felt absolutely vile, disgusting. Finally it seemed that he had put some trust in them after being so introverted. What exactly had the two of them done to him?

"You're right. We should give him some time," Sango said after collecting her thoughts together. "Hopefully, he'll listen to what we have to say."

* * *

Inuyasha was fuming. How could they even say a single word to that man, after what he had told them about him? They knew what had happened, they knew that he was a manipulative beast, incapable of love so why? Why would his own friends whom he trusted go against him in such a way? He wanted to avoid this feeling all together that was why trust was something that he avoided. It was why he kept people far away from him. The less approachable he seemed the better it was for him. He trusted them, completely and thought that they would remain loyal to him and only him.

'I was so wrong,' Inuyasha thought and moved through the hall swiftly. He didn't know exactly where he was headed. All he wanted was to get as far away as possible from Sango and Miroku. He didn't want to see that guilty expression that both of them had given him anymore. He wanted to erase their faces from his memory, to forget all the times that they had together. He didn't want anything to do with them anymore. He would definitely go back to the way things were before. Being alone was better. Relying on himself was what was best for him and for everyone else. Sango and Miroku made him realize that now.

Kagome happened to be in the hallway, making her way outside. Her cheeks immediately flushed when she saw Inuyasha seemingly heading straight towards her. She stopped her stride, part of her hoping that he would stop to talk to her like he usually did while the other part of her praying that he would disregard her presence.

She was shocked when Inuyasha passed her, without even an acknowledgement. His shoulders lightly brushed hers as he passed by, causing Kagome to stumble back a few steps. She whimpered slightly before regaining her balance.

"Takahashi-san?" she whispered without even thinking and turned around to look at him. He was walking away quickly and his body seemed tense. She knew that there was something different about him when he was coming towards her. The usual light air around him was gone, replaced by something eerie, dark. It was almost indescribable.

'I wonder what happened?'

* * *

AN: Wow it took this long break from writing to realize how much I love it. I really love it. Anyways I hope you all loved this chapter. I worked hard on it. I especially tried to put a lot of emotion into it as well. I hope that came across. Suggestions, comments, criticisms, email them all to me at . I would like to thank every single one of you for your undying support and I will continue with my writing.

Neogirl


	7. Awkward Moments

Disclaimer: Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi and I do not own any rights to this series. No copyright infringement is meant through this fanfiction.

Little House

Chapter 7- Awkward Moments

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_There is no use worrying about things over which you have no control, and if you have control, you can do something about them instead of worrying- __**Stanley C. Allyn**_

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* * *

It had been two weeks. Two weeks since he had last looked at the two persons who he though were his friends, two weeks that he had eaten lunch by himself on the rooftop of the school, looking at the passing clouds. His thoughts were jumbled, uncertain. Betrayal often did that to a person, causing one to second guess everything and everyone. Even if the feeling of betrayal was still eminent, anger was the emotion that had overtaken his system, his mind. It was the kind of anger that Inuyasha thought that he had gotten rid of three years ago. He thought that it was something he had left behind when he had exited that picture perfect house. It was strange how emotions from the past still haunted his mind. It made him wonder if, for him, moving on was even possible.

Inuyasha had made his way up to the roof again. This time it was deserted due to the cold November weather. This made it even more suitable for Inuyasha since he could be alone with his thoughts. Kagome had not come up on the rooftop again. Inuyasha guessed that it was because she had missed her spot under the old tree. Subconsciously Inuyasha was somewhat disappointed. Talking to her was a nice change. She listening to him and did not speak unnecessarily like other girls. Inuyasha smirked when he recalled her facial expressions within the hour they had spent together. She had so many changing emotions. It was quite interesting to watch.

Of course he had seen the girl. She still tutored him once a week and both times that they had met since Inuyasha's experience with his friends, Inuyasha chose to be emotionally distant. He was still upset about the incident with Sango and Miroku and he guessed that Kagome sensed his anger. She barely spoke, only when necessary and when the session was over Inuyasha left without any further conversation.

He felt slightly bad about his attitude towards her but decided that what she felt was none of his concern.

Inuyasha breathed out a sigh and watched as his breath formed a tiny white cloud that quickly dissolved into the atmosphere. It really was near freezing but Inuyasha somehow found the atmosphere appealing. He knew that everyone would be inside because of the temperature, making indoors unappealing to him. He found the students within the school to be noisy and annoying. Being alone was better. He had attempted to convince himself of that notion without any success.

His thoughts were cut short when the sound of footsteps came into his range of hearing. Inuyasha did not make an attempt to sit up, instead he turned his head to the side to see who exactly it was. His eyes widened when he caught the sight of the girl with long raven locks and ocean blue eyes looking as equally surprised as him. It was Kagome

"Takahashi-san," Kagome whispered and immediately averted her eyes.

Inuyasha observed the lunch clutched firmly within her hand, along with her bag. She had obviously come here to eat and by the expression on her face, Inuyasha guessed that she was expecting the spot to be empty. He raised one eyebrow at the girl, wondering exactly why she was staring. Kagome flushed and turned away, obviously desiring to leave before the situation became any more awkward.

"Keh, sit down!"

"Eh?" Kagome said and turned around to face Inuyasha with a baffled expression held within her eyes.

"Don't you ever listen? You probably walked all the way here anyway. Sit down, I don't mind."

Kagome looked frozen for a moment. Apparently she too was as confused at the words that Inuyasha had just uttered as he was. Her body became noticeably tense before she took a seat next to Inuyasha on the floor. It almost felt like déjà vu from the last two weeks. Maybe this time she wasn't as hesitant was before.

She was quiet, typical Kagome. The emotionless mask was also present as well as she opened her lunch slowly. Inuyasha decided it best not to say anything and turned his attention back to the sky above him.

"Um… Takahashi-san," Kagome began in a soft voice. Inuyasha didn't bother to look at her. He however grunted to indicate that he was listening. He could almost imagine her looking at the ground before focusing her eyes on him once more right before she would speak. "Just know that I only came here because I wanted to, not that…" she paused as if she were attempting to collect her thoughts. Inuyasha didn't need to look at her to know that she had that defiant expression on her face. "Just don't misunderstand!" Kagome muttered finally.

His presence was soothing yet at the same time it made her feel completely uneasy. She had convinced herself that the rush of emotion that she had felt previously was nothing more than a confusion of the mind. Kagome had chastised herself before it occurred to her that she wasn't quite used to being around persons who were so… well who didn't bully her or attempt to use her in some way, less alone someone from the opposite sex. It was confusion on her part.

It was hushed for sometime. Inuyasha hadn't moved from his current position and with his back facing away from her, Kagome couldn't guess exactly what was on his mind.

"Did I ever do anything for you to think like that wench?" His voice was barely audible, so different from his regular harsh tone. Kagome unexpectedly felt ashamed of her own words. Why had she uttered them?

"Um… no not really…"

"Keh, you're weird," Inuyasha responded before Kagome could say anything else. Kagome was about to retaliate, in fact she had devised her insult within her mind beforehand but the words got stuck in her throat when golden eyes clashed with her sea blue orbs. Her lips remained slightly parted, speechless due to the sudden eye contact.

"How come you didn't go under that rotting tree today? You always seem to find yourself there," Inuyasha inquired as he looked at her.

Kagome's cheeks and lips were slightly red from the cold temperature. Her hair was different from usual, he noted. Instead of the loose, messy hair that he had grown accustomed to seeing, Kagome had opted to tie the raven tresses up into a messy bun. Strands of hair still fell in front of her face but he could tell that she had tried her best to tuck the loose strands behind her ears.

Kagome averted her eyes away from Inuyasha and impulsively closed them when a cold wind blew past them. She bit her lips lightly as her body dealt with the sudden chill before staring at the ground beneath her.

"I just wanted to come up here. It was nice the last time, although it's cold now," Kagome commented and found a smile slowly making its way on to her face. Kagome lightly shook her head when she became aware of her thoughts. "What about you, Takahashi-san? Why aren't you with your friends?"

Inuyasha face immediately darkened. It was almost as if Kagome had felt the anger radiating from his body. Kagome stared at him, wondering exactly what he was thinking. He turned away from her this time allowing her to only view his broad back.

Kagome arched one eyebrow and bit her lower lip. Had she said something wrong? She frowned when it became observable that he wasn't going to answer her question and that he was practically ignoring her presence. Annoyance washed over her attributed to Inuyasha's sudden mood swing. Just because he didn't want to answer her question, didn't mean that he should treat her as if she were a non- existent being.

The teenager frowned and turned her attention away from Inuyasha. She would simply eat her lunch without having conversation with him. Who needed a rude, arrogant, moody jerk that would suddenly invite her to sit with him and then decide to become uninviting towards her later on? He was the only person who irritated her so much with his antics. She normally ignored such person but with Inuyasha it was different. Why did being around him put her through such emotions?

"You'll get a line in the middle of your forehead if you keep that look on your face," Inuyasha suddenly said after about fifteen minutes of silence.

Kagome turned her head to look at him and found that his body was turned to face her once more. His golden orbs had that playful gleam within them that Kagome had oddly enough wished to see more of. Anything was better than that angry expression that his face usually gave off.

Kagome frowned down at him and lifted her head high, indicting her pride. Inuyasha knew an insult was most likely coming next. He was well prepared for it.

"Well I could say the same for you," Kagome commented. Inuyasha observed as her down-turned lips curved into a tiny smile. "You always have a sour expression on your face."

She looked absolutely captivating with a smile fitted on her pink lips. Inuyasha flushed lightly and turned away once again from her. He had noticed that her blue eyes held a playful gleam within them. This coupled with the long strands framing her face and her rose colored cheeks from the cold made her appear even prettier than usual. Inuyasha had to turn away due to embarrassment from his own thoughts.

"Keh," was his only response.

* * *

Sango frowned as the bell indicating the end of the lunch hour chimed throughout the school. She and Miroku had sat in the same spot braving the cold in hopes that Inuyasha would appear before them. This was another day that they would be disappointed.

During the past two weeks, Inuyasha himself had totally cut them out of his life. Sango had seen him around of course and despite Miroku's warnings she had attempted to communicate with him. Inuyasha on the other hand saw it fit to treat Sango as if she were a soft, fleeting wind passing by him. First, his golden eyes would meet her dark brown ones, and then the fire within them would build, throwing shooting arrows in her direction before he would walk away completely disregarding her presence.

It hurt her to know that he no longer saw her as a friend, that he no longer saw _her_. Miroku said to give Inuyasha time but it was nearly two weeks without communication. Shouldn't it be time for Sango to explain herself, to het him to understand?

"Let's go inside," Miroku said suddenly. Sango jumped as her thoughts were cut off. She looked down at her fingers which were digging into the white, plastic table. She wanted to wait a bit longer. It was Inuyasha after all; he could change his mind any minute.

"Sango," Miroku sighed and looked at her with a frown. He sensed her anxiety, her guilt about the entire situation. After all she was the one who was contacted first, but Miroku was the one who was willing to compromise. They were both guilty in this situation.

Without a second thought, Miroku rested his hand on her midnight black hair. Sango looked at him with surprised dark brown orbs and parted lips. He wasn't one to be affectionate in such a manner.

"It's cold," Miroku stated and ran his fingers through her silky tresses until his palm lightly touched her right shoulder. "Let's go inside."

Sango sighed and lowered her eyes down to the table once more. Her petite hands were trembling as they dug into the table.

Hai," she responded and was about to stand up when her cell phone interrupted the silence.

Trembling hands slowly reached for the gadget resting on the table before them. She grabbed the communication device and flipped it open to check the number. A feeling of dread instantly washed over her body when she identified who exactly was attempting to contact her.

Miroku's blue eyes met with her dark ones. He didn't need to ask who was calling or what exactly she was thinking. Her eyes said it all; her hesitant actions spoke to him. She lowered her eyes to look at the device as a tempest raged within her mind. Inuyasha's face flashed in her mind and remained there for a few moments. Her confusion with the entire situation was driving her crazy.

Gathering all her resolve Sango pressed the button to accept the call and pressed the phone to her left ear.

"Hello…"

* * *

"Mama!" Kagome yelled when she arrived home.

The house was quiet. Souta had football practice so Kagome knew for certain that her little brother would not be home until late. Her mother on the other hand was supposed to be home. She would normally be greeted either by the door or her mother would be sitting happily in the living room watching television. Kagome frowned and made a beeline to Mrs. Higurashi's bedroom. It was possible that Mrs. Higurashi decided to rest for a while.

The room was tidy. It was uninhabited.

"Mama?" Kagome whispered. Her heart was picking up speed. Her breath was becoming short. She was going into panic mode.

Her body moved on its own. She padded down the stairs to once again arrive at the first floor. Her mother's name came out of her lips several times as her body easily maneuvered its way around the house at a rapid speed. She ignored her stumbling and kept moving around the house. Each time she called there was no response, no sound. The entire shrine compound was inharmoniously quiet. It felt like death and come over the household and had finally come for what it had been searching for.

She stopped in the kitchen and once again called out to her mother. It was the same response every time. Silence, deathly silence.

An ominous image was forming within her mind. She saw it clearly within her mind. The body was lying unmoving on the floor but it was different from the other times. It was cold, the lips had turned icy blue and the warm brown eyes were now permanently shut. It was the eternal sleep known as death.

"No," Kagome whispered as her body shook immensely. Kagome quickly made her way outside, looking for any sign of the mother that she had loved so dearly. There was no one, nothing. The image wouldn't disperse. It was actually becoming even clearer within her mind. It was haunting her thoughts and imagination.

Beads of sweat formed on her temples and fingertips as her mind was being taken over with the dark image. She attempted to wipe the sweat off of her face but her trembling hands weren't working right. They refused to move from her side as Kagome's fears were being realized. She shook her head as her vision began to become blurry and her breath was becoming short. She tried to convince herself that it was all in her mind, her imagination but the thoughts, the image refused to go away.

"Kagome?"

Pools of blue looked to the left and caught a sight that immediately stilled Kagome's fears. The teenager stood rooted to the ground her face showing the shock that she felt. It appeared that she had seen a ghost.

"Ma…"

Mrs. Higurashi frowned as she made her way towards her daughter. Thin, ghost like hands lightly caressed Kagome's left cheek before moving up to touch Kagome's forehead.

Kagome looked shaken, terrified and in alarmed. It was amazing to see so many emotions on one's simultaneously. Mrs. Higurashi felt the sweat on Kagome's face and felt the tremors that Kagome's body was experiencing. It worried her to see her daughter in such a disturbing state. What had happened to cause this young girl to experience such anxiety? Her eyes moved down to examine her daughter's body. She looked fine except for a light scrape on her knee and the patches of dirt that clung to Kagome's feet.

Worried brown eyes met with Kagome's indecisive blue ones. Her frown deepened as she observed Kagome's face.

"Why are you outside… without even putting on shoes?" Mrs. Higurashi inquired and gripped on to her daughter's wrist, pulling the girl inside.

Kagome didn't say anything. She couldn't say anything. The relief that she had experienced by seeing her mother alive had paralyzed her. Mrs. Higurashi sat Kagome down on a chair in the kitchen before moving over to one of the draws. Kagome kept her eyes focused on her mother. She was scared that if she were to avert her attention away even for a moment, Mrs. Higurashi would disappear forever.

It took her sometime to form the words within her mind before Kagome could utter them.

"Where did you go, mama?"

Mrs. Higurashi didn't look back at Kagome. Instead she continued going through the drawers as if nothing had occurred previously.

"I took a trip to the doctor today," Mrs. Higruashi commented casually.

Kagome jumped to her feet immediately and looked at her mother's figure with surprised eyes. Her mind raced with possible reasons for the visit. Had something gone terribly wrong while she wasn't home? Mrs. Higurashi spoke before Kagome could. She knew that her daughter would go into worry as soon as she heard it.

"I am fine. I decided to have an early check up this week since I have been feeling well. I don't need anyone to go with me."

She turned and gave Kagome a warm smile before coming over with a cloth grasped between her fingers. Kagome was frowning once more. The worry still remained on Kagome's face. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her eyes were downcast. She was attempting to hide her emotions once more. It pained Mrs. Higurashi to see her daughter attempting to put a brave front when in fact she was a mere weak human being, riddled with fear and uncertainly. All she wanted was for Kagome to be happy, act like a normal teenage girl but Kagome instead took on Mrs. Higurashi's sickness upon herself. Mrs. Higurashi knew that she was burdening her daughter.

"Let me wipe your feet for you, Kagome," Mrs. Higurashi offered and plastered a smile on her face. She hoped that Kagome would not see through it.

Kagome's frown deepened but she seemed to be slightly relived as she gently took the damp cloth out of her mother's hand. A small smile formed on Kagome's face. Mrs. Higurashi couldn't even remember the last time that she had seen Kagome give a genuine smile. Like the others, this emotion was put on to please her mother. She held back her worry this time, knowing that it would cause Kagome concern

"I'm going to take a shower anyway. Thank you though mama," Kagome said and slowly stood to her feet.

Mrs. Higurashi looked as her daughter retreated upstairs. She waited a few moments before slumping down on a nearby chair.

The doctor's visit was like any other, except for when the doctor spoke in the end. The conversation with the doctor was continuously playing in her mind. His eyes were solemn, regretful. She knew what was coming next. She had received that same expression when she was first diagnosed. At first, Mrs. Higurashi had a desire to cover her ears and block out the words, to block out the reality of the situation. It then occurred to her that there was no way to block out this reality. It would eventually catch up with her, she knew it. This was something that she couldn't run away from and she _wouldn't_ run away from it. She had listened without a word and left the doctor's office with his last words echoing within her mind.

She sighed and rubbed her eyes to prevent the tears from coming. If it was one thing, she could control was her emotions. She would never let her children see her cry for she knew that it would cause them pain, distress. She did not want them going through the same things that she did. There lives were only starting, hers was coming to an end.

She sighed and shut her eyes in an attempted to block the tears from flowing freely down her face. The conversation was once again echoing within her mind.

"_You have stopped responding to treatments, Mrs. Higurashi. I would advise you to take care of your personal business as you don't seem to have much time left."_

Mrs. Higurashi held back a sob as a tear trailed down her face. She constantly reminded herself no tears but when she thought about the grim future she could no longer hold it back. She foreshadowed darkness and misery.

She was dying and she knew it.

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A/N: Ha that was fast wasn't it? Yeah I had this chapter written down a while now so that's why I did it so quickly. So tell me what you think about this chapter. Hopefully I will get into the mode of writing since I do have time now to write for as long as I want to. Expect the next chapter to be up next week or so… hopefully. Thank you to all who read and reviewed my last chapter, even though I was gone for so long.

Neogirl


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